天目 (tiān mù) — Tianmu Mountain (a mountain range in Zhejiang,…

Definition

Proper name for Tianmu Mountain, a famous mountain range in Zhejiang. Short for 天目山; also a tea varietal (天目盏) named after the region.

noun

Tianmu Mountain (a mountain range in Zhejiang, China)

Measure word · 座

天目浙。
tiān mù Shān shì zhè jiāng zuì zhù míng de shān mài zhī yī.
Tianmu Mountain is one of the most famous mountain ranges in Zhejiang.
天目。
Wǒ men jì huà míng nián qù tiān mù shān lǚ xíng.
We plan to travel to Tianmu Mountain next year.
天目。
Guān yú tiān mù dì shén huà chuán shuō hěn duō.
There are many myths and legends about Tianmu.

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.

天 sky + 目 eye: the mountain's name, literally a sky eye.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

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

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

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

目 began as a drawing of a human eye, turned sideways.