哨塔 (shào da) — sentry tower; watchtower

Definition

noun
sentry towerwatchtower
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 哨塔。
    Shì bīng zài shào da shàng guān chá dí qíng.
    The soldiers observed the enemy situation from the watchtower.
  • 哨塔，。
    Zhè zuò shào da jiàn yú míng cháo, zhì jīn bǎo cún wán hǎo.
    This watchtower was built in the Ming dynasty and is still well preserved.
  • 哨塔。
    Biān jìng yán xiàn měi gé jǐ gōng lǐ jiù yǒu yí zuò shào da.
    Along the border, there is a sentry tower every few kilometers.

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.

哨shàosentry
塔tǎtower

哨 refers to a sentry or watch, and 塔 is a tower, so together they mean a watchtower.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 哨 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
荅
荅dá塔tǎ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

塔 shows 土 (earth) for the meaning and 荅 (dá) for the sound.

Open 塔 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.