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小巷 (xiǎo xiàng) — alley; narrow lane

Definition

noun
alleynarrow lane
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 小巷。
    Zhè tiáo xiǎo xiàng fēi cháng ān jìng.
    This alley is very quiet.
  • 小巷。
    Tā zhù zài yí gè gǔ lǎo de xiǎo xiàng lǐ.
    He lives in an ancient alley.
  • 小巷。
    xiǎo xiàng De liǎng biān zhǒng zhe hěn duō huā.
    There are many flowers planted on both sides of the alley.

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.

小xiǎosmall
巷xiànglane

小 (small) and 巷 (lane) mean a small, narrow lane.

Characters in this word

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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
己己jǐoneself
Sound part声符shēngfú
共
共gòng巷hàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

巷 is made from 共, read gòng, and 己, meaning 'oneself'.

Open 巷 →
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