堑 (qiàn) — (bound form) trench; moat

Definition

Bound morpheme meaning 'trench / moat' — almost always part of a compound (天堑, 堑壕, 吃一堑). It is not used alone in modern Chinese.

bound form
trenchmoat
Easily confused

Examples

  • 堑。
    Cháng jiāng bèi chēng wéi tiān qiàn.
    The Yangtze River is called a natural barrier.
  • 堑。
    Zhàn shì men wā le shēn shēn de qiàn háo.
    The soldiers dug deep trenches.
  • ，。
    Zhè cì shī bài ràng wǒ xué huì le chī yí qiàn, zhǎng yí zhì.
    This failure taught me to learn from setbacks.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
斩
斩zhǎn堑qiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

堑 combines 土 (earth) with 斩, which gives its sound.

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