古堡 (gǔ bǎo) — ancient fortress; ancient castle | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ancient fortressancient castle

Measure word · 座

Examples

古堡。
Zhè zuò gǔ bǎo yǐ jīng yǒu bā bǎi duō nián de lì shǐ le.
This ancient castle already has a history of over 800 years.
古堡。
Wǒ men qù ōu zhōu lǚ xíng de shí hou cān guān le hěn duō gǔ bǎo.
We visited many ancient fortresses when we traveled to Europe.
古堡，。
Nà ge gǔ bǎo jiàn zài shān dǐng shàng, fēi cháng zhuàng guān.
That ancient fortress was built on the mountaintop and is very magnificent.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

古gǔancient

堡bǎofortress

“古” means ancient and “堡” means fortress, so it names an old fortified place.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One reading of 古 sees a shield-like shape above an open mark, showing strength and firmness. Another sees a person spitting out bad-tasting food.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

保土堡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

保

Same sound today

堡 pairs 土 (earth) with 保 (bǎo): 保 gives the sound, and 土 is the meaning part.

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