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岸边 (àn biān) — riverbank, shore; the land along the edge of a river, lake, or sea

Definition

noun
riverbankshorethe land along the edge of a river, lake, or sea

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā zhàn zài àn biān, wàng zhe yuǎn chù de qún shān.
    He stood on the riverbank, looking at the distant mountains.
  • 岸边。
    Hú de àn biān zhǎng mǎn le lú wěi.
    The shores of the lake are covered with reeds.
  • 岸边。
    Hǎi biān de àn biān yǒu hěn duō rén zài sàn bù.
    Many people are strolling along the seaside shore.

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.

岸ànbank
边biānedge

岸 names a bank and 边 its edge, giving a shore.

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
屵屵àncliff
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān岸àn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

岸 shows 屵, a cliff, next to 干, which gives a clue to the sound; together they point to the edge of land.

Open 岸 →

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 邊; 边 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalking; movement
Sound part声符shēngfú
臱
臱mián邊biān(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 邊 pairs 辶 (walking; movement) with the sound part 臱; the simplified 边 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 边 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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