屋脊 (wū jǐ) — ridge of a roof

Definition

noun
ridge of a roof
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 屋脊。
    Zhè zuò fáng zi de wū jǐ hěn gāo.
    The roof ridge of this house is very high.
  • 屋脊。
    Gōng rén zhèng zài xiū lǐ wū jǐ.
    The workers are repairing the roof ridge.
  • 屋脊。
    Cóng yuǎn chù kě yǐ kàn dào wū jǐ shàng de zhuāng shì.
    From afar you can see the decorations on the roof ridge.

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.

屋wūhouse/roof
脊jǐspine/ridge

屋 (house/roof) and 脊 (spine/ridge) name the roof's ridge.

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
室室shìroom
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡉉
𡉉𡉉屋wū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屋 comes from 室, meaning room, with 𡉉 for sound; its upper part later changed into an unrelated shape.

Open 屋 →

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
肉肉ròuflesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì脊jǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The original drawing of 脊 showed a fish spine; later 肉 (flesh) was added to point to the meaning, while the upper 朿 part supplied the sound.

Open 脊 →

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