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大雪 (Dà xuě) — heavy snow; Major Snow (20th of the 24 solar terms)

Definition

A single term that means both 'heavy snow' (the weather) and 'Major Snow', the 20th of the 24 solar terms — the 节气 meaning is what you'll meet in culture and calendar contexts.

noun
heavy snowMajor Snow (20th of the 24 solar terms)

Examples

  • 大雪。
    Jīn tiān xià le hěn dà de Dà xuě.
    It snowed heavily today.
  • 大雪。
    Dà xuě Shì èr shí sì jié qì zhī yī.
    Major Snow is one of the 24 solar terms.
  • 大雪。
    Běi fāng dì qū měi nián dōu yǒu Dà xuě.
    Northern regions have heavy snow every year.

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dàheavy
雪xuěsnow

大 adds the sense of heavy to 雪, giving heavy snow.

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
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
彗
彗huì雪xuě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

雪 pairs 雨, showing rain, with 彗, giving the sound.

Open 雪 →
Appears in
Climate & SeasonsWeather

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