城池 (chéng chí) — city wall and moat; fortifications of a city; city (especially in historical or literary contexts)

Definition

Historical or literary word for a fortified city — its walls and moat. Use 城市 in modern speech instead.

noun
city wall and moatfortifications of a citycity (especially in historical or literary contexts)
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 城池。
    Zhè zuò gǔ chéng chéng chí fēi cháng jiān gù.
    This ancient city's fortifications are very strong.
  • 城池。
    Gǔ dài de chéng chí tōng cháng yǒu hù chéng hé.
    Ancient cities usually had a moat.
  • 城池。
    Gōng pò chéng chí xū yào hěn duō shí jiān.
    Breaking through the city's defenses takes a lot of time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

城chéngcity wall
池chímoat

城 and 池 stand for walls and moats, giving the whole city.

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tǔsoil
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng城chéng
Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

Open 城 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě池chí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

池 pairs 氵 (water) with 也, which provides the sound.

Open 池 →

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