属地 (shǔ dì) — dependency; territory under jurisdiction; subordinate area or branch (in business or administrative context)

Definition

Formal/technical term for a territory under the jurisdiction of another state, or a subordinate branch in administration and business. Mostly appears in official, legal, or corporate contexts rather than daily speech.

noun
dependencyterritory under jurisdictionsubordinate area or branch (in business or administrative context)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 属地。
    Zhè ge dǎo yǔ shì zhōng guó de gù yǒu shǔ dì.
    This island is China's inherent territory.
  • 属地。
    Gōng sī zài shàng hǎi shè yǒu shǔ dì bàn shì chù.
    The company has a subordinate office in Shanghai.
  • 属地。
    Liǎng guó jiù shǔ dì wèn tí jìn xíng le tán pàn.
    The two countries held negotiations on the territorial issue.

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.

属shǔsubordinate
地dìterritory

属 means subordinate and 地 means territory, so land under jurisdiction.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 屬; 属 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
㞑Written in full as尾wěitail
Sound part声符shēngfú
蜀
蜀shǔ屬shǔ
Same sound today

The traditional form 屬 pairs 㞑 (tail) with 蜀 as a sound part; the simplified 属 is a shorthand.

Open 属 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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