太白 (Tài bái) — Taibai County in Baoji, Shaanxi; also refers to Taibai Mountain

Definition

Proper noun referring to Taibai County (in Baoji, Shaanxi) and Taibai Mountain (秦岭最高峰). In literary/poetic contexts it can also mean Venus (the planet).

noun
Taibai County in BaojiShaanxialso refers to Taibai Mountain
Easily confused

Examples

  • 太白。
    Wǒ qù nián qù guò Tài bái xiàn.
    I went to Taibai County last year.
  • 太白陕。
    Tài bái Shān shì shǎn xī zuì gāo de shān.
    Taibai Mountain is the highest mountain in Shaanxi.
  • 太白。
    Cóng bǎo jī dào Tài bái xiàn kāi chē yào liǎng gè xiǎo shí.
    It takes two hours to drive from Baoji to Taibai County.

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.

太tàigreat
白báiwhite

太 “great” and 白 “white” name the very bright white planet and the place.

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.

太 is a modified form of 大, with an extra dot added to show 'too big'.

Open 太 →

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

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