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地方 (dì fāng) — region, locality (as opposed to the central government)

Definition

地方 (dì fāng) here means 'locality / region' in the political sense — the local level, contrasted with the central government. Don't confuse with the more common 地方 (dì fang), which just means 'place'.

noun
regionlocality (as opposed to the central government)
Measure word · 处
Easily confused

Examples

  • 地方。
    Zhōng yāng zhèng fǔ yīng gāi zhī chí dì fāng de fā zhǎn.
    The central government should support the development of the region.
  • 地方。
    dì fāng Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài zhì dìng xīn de zhèng cè.
    The local government is formulating new policies.
  • 地方。
    Zhōng yāng zhèng fǔ yīng dāng zūn zhòng dì fāng de wén huà chuán tǒng.
    The central government should respect the cultural traditions of the regions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

地dìland
方fāngdirection

地 (land) and 方 (direction) together denote a locality.

Characters in this word

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tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 方 →
Appears in
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