工地 (gōng dì) — construction site | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

construction site

Measure word · 个

Examples

工地，。
Zhè ge gōng dì hěn dà, yǒu hěn duō jī qì.
This construction site is very big and has a lot of machinery.
工地，。
Bà ba zài gōng dì shàng bān, měi tiān hěn xīn kǔ.
Dad works at a construction site and works hard every day.
工地。
gōng dì Páng biān yǒu yí gè shāng diàn.
There is a shop next to the construction site.

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.

“工” (work) and “地” (place) together mean a place for construction work.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

土也地

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Buildings & Structures

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