大殿 (dà diàn) — main hall (of a palace, temple, or similar gran…

Definition

noun

main hall (of a palace, temple, or similar grand building)audience hall (in a palace)

Measure word · 座

大殿。
dà diàn Shì sì miào lǐ zuì zhòng yào de jiàn zhù.
The main hall is the most important building in the temple.
大殿。
Gǔ dài huáng dì zài dà diàn shàng jǔ xíng diǎn lǐ.
Ancient emperors held ceremonies in the audience hall.
大殿。
Zhè zuò dà diàn yǐ jīng yǒu wǔ bǎi nián de lì shǐ le.
This main hall already has a history of five hundred years.

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.

大 gives great and 殿 gives hall, so the word names the main hall.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

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

殳殳shūhand holding a weapon

Sound part声符shēngfú

𡱂

臀tún殿⁰diàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

殿 pairs 𡱂 (buttocks, giving the sound) with 殳 (a hand holding a weapon) to show hitting the buttocks.