垦荒 (kěn huāng) — to reclaim wasteland, to open up virgin soil

Definition

垦荒 (kěn huāng) means to cultivate previously unfarmed land — wilderness, grassland, or desert — turning it into farmland. Common in historical and policy contexts about frontier settlement and agricultural expansion.

verb
to reclaim wastelandto open up virgin soil

Examples

  • 垦荒。
    Zhè pī zhì yuàn zhě qù xī běi kěn huāng.
    This group of volunteers went to the northwest to reclaim wasteland.
  • 。
    Tā zài hēi lóng jiāng kěn le sān nián huāng.
    He reclaimed wasteland in Heilongjiang for three years.
  • 垦荒，。
    Jīng guò dà guī mó kěn huāng, zhè piàn shā mò biàn chéng le liáng tián.
    Through large-scale land reclamation, this desert turned into fertile farmland.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

垦kěnreclaim
荒huāngwasteland

垦荒 is to 垦, or reclaim, land that is 荒, turning waste into fields.

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 墾; 垦 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 墾 pairs 貇, which gives the sound, with 土, earth/soil; 垦 is a later simplified form.

Open 垦 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss, plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
巟
巟huāng荒huāng
Same sound today

荒 is built from 艹 (grass, plant) and 巟, with 巟 giving the sound huāng.

Open 荒 →

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