四边形 (sì biān xíng) — quadrilateral

Definition

A 4-sided closed figure (quadrilateral) — a parent category whose special cases include 平行四边形 (parallelogram), 矩形 (rectangle), 梯形 (trapezoid), and 正方形 (square).

noun
quadrilateral
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 四边形？
    Zhè ge sì biān xíng de miàn jī zěn me jì suàn?
    How do you calculate the area of this quadrilateral?
  • 四边形。
    Lǎo shī zài hēi bǎn shàng huà le yí gè sì biān xíng.
    The teacher drew a quadrilateral on the blackboard.
  • 四边形。
    Zhèng fāng xíng shì yì zhǒng tè shū de sì biān xíng.
    A square is a special type of quadrilateral.

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.

四边four sides
四sìfour边biānside
偏正Modifier + head
形xíngshape

The sense of 四 as four and 边 as side with 形 as shape gives a shape with four sides.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Open 四 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 邊; 边 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalking; movement
Sound part声符shēngfú
臱
臱mián邊biān(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 邊 pairs 辶 (walking; movement) with the sound part 臱; the simplified 边 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 边 →

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
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
井
井jǐng形xíng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

形 is made from 彡 and 井, with 井 providing the sound.

Open 形 →

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