大江南北 (dà jiāng nán běi) — north and south of the Yangtze River; (fig.) all over China

Definition

Literally 'north and south of the Yangtze River,' this idiom is a poetic way to say 'all over China' or 'throughout the land.' It emphasizes widespread, nationwide reach rather than a literal geographic reference.

idiom
north and south of the Yangtze River(fig.) all over China

Examples

  • 大江南北。
    Lái zì dà jiāng nán běi de rén men dài lái le bù tóng de wén huà.
    People from all over China have brought different cultures.
  • 大江南北。
    Tā de gē shēng chuán biàn le dà jiāng nán běi.
    His singing voice has spread across the whole country.
  • 大江南北。
    dà jiāng nán běi Dōu zài huān dù chūn jié.
    Everyone across the land is celebrating the Spring Festival.

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.

大江great river
大dàgreat江jiāngriver
偏正Modifier + head
南北south and north
南nánsouth北běinorth
联合Side by side

The south and north 南北 of the great 大 江 name all of China.

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.

Open 大 →

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shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng江jiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

江 puts 氵, the water side, beside 工, which gives a sound; the water part points to its river meaning.

Open 江 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 南 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 北 shows two people standing back to back. It originally meant 'back'.

Open 北 →

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