坟地 (fén de) — graveyard; cemetery | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A colloquial word for a 'graveyard' — the physical piece of land where graves are located, often smaller or more rural than the larger, more formal 公墓 (public cemetery).

noun

graveyardcemetery

Measure word · 个

Examples

坟地。
Zhè piàn fén de hěn jiǔ méi rén lái guò le.
No one has come to this graveyard for a long time.
，坟地。
Qīng míng jié nà tiān, wǒ men qù le shān shàng de fén de sǎo mù.
On Qingming Festival, we went to the cemetery on the mountain to visit the graves.
坟地。
Cūn wài de fén de zhōu wéi zhǒng mǎn le sōng shù.
The graveyard outside the village is surrounded by pine trees.

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.

坟 means grave and 地 means land, so it names a piece of land with graves.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 墳; 坟 is its simplified writing.

土賁墳

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

賁

賁bì墳fén

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 墳, 土 shows the meaning and 賁 gives the sound.

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

土也地

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.

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