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岩洞 (yán dòng) — cave, cavern

Definition

noun
cavecavern
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 岩洞，。
    Zhè ge yán dòng hěn shēn, lǐ miàn hěn àn.
    This cave is very deep and dark inside.
  • 岩洞。
    Wǒ men zǒu jìn le yí gè měi lì de yán dòng.
    We walked into a beautiful cave.
  • 岩洞。
    Kē xué jiā zài zhè ge yán dòng lǐ fā xiàn le xīn de wù zhǒng.
    Scientists discovered a new species in this cave.

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.

岩yánrock
洞dòngcave

岩 refers to rock, and 洞 is a hollow or cave; together they name a cave formed in rock.

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 巖; 岩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
嚴
嚴yán巖yán
Same sound today

The traditional form 巖 combines 山 (mountain) with 嚴, a part that gives the sound; the simplified 岩 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the original parts.

Open 岩 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
同
同tóng洞dòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

洞 combines 水 (water) with 同, which gives the sound tóng.

Open 洞 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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