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对面 (duì miàn) — the opposite side; across from; opposite

Definition

对面 is a noun for the side directly across from you (a street, a table, a building). It needs a position word like 在, not 对着 the way 对 (facing) does.

noun
the opposite sideacross fromopposite

Examples

  • 对面。
    Yín háng zài chāo shì duì miàn.
    The bank is across from the supermarket.
  • 对面。
    Wǒ jiā duì miàn yǒu yí gè gōng yuán.
    There is a park opposite my home.
  • 对面。
    Nǐ zuò zài wǒ duì miàn ba.
    You sit opposite me.

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.

对duìopposite
面miànside

对 means opposite, and 面 means side or face, so the word names the side opposite you.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →
Appears in
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