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干涸 (gān hé) — to dry up (of rivers, lakes, wells, etc.)

Definition

Formal/literary verb for water bodies drying up completely (rivers, wells, reservoirs). Distinguish from 干旱 (gānhàn), a noun/adjective meaning 'drought' — the dry condition itself, not the act of drying.

verb
to dry up (of rivers, lakes, wells, etc.)

Examples

  • 干涸。
    Zhè tiáo xiǎo hé zài xià tiān jīng cháng huì gān hé.
    This small river often dries up in summer.
  • ，干涸。
    Yóu yú cháng qī gān hàn, jǐng lǐ de shuǐ yǐ jīng gān hé le.
    Due to prolonged drought, the water in the well has dried up.
  • 干涸，。
    Shuǐ kù zài hàn jì wán quán gān hé, lù chū le gān liè de hé chuáng.
    The reservoir completely dried up during the dry season, revealing a cracked riverbed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

干gāndry
涸hédried up

干 means dry and 涸 means dried up; together they describe water drying up.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
固
固gù涸hé
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

涸 combines 氵 (water) and 固; 固 gives the sound.

Appears in
Environment & Ecology

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