土墩 (tǔ dūn) — mound

Definition

noun
mound
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 土墩。
    Tián yě lǐ yǒu yí gè hěn dà de tǔ dūn.
    There is a very big mound in the field.
  • 土墩。
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài tǔ dūn xià fā xiàn le gǔ dài yí jì.
    Archaeologists discovered ancient remains under the mound.
  • 土墩。
    Tā men yòng tuī tǔ jī bǎ tǔ dūn tuī píng le.
    They used a bulldozer to level the mound.

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.

土tǔearth
墩dūnmound

土 (earth) + 墩 (mound) gives an earthen mound.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 土 →

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tǔsoil
Sound part声符shēngfú
敦
敦dūn墩dūn
Same sound today

墩 pairs 土 (soil) with 敦, which gives the sound dūn.

Open 墩 →

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