拓荒 (tuò huāng) — to reclaim wasteland; to pioneer (in a field)

Definition

拓荒 (tuòhuāng) literally means reclaiming wild or uncultivated land, and by extension means pioneering a new field. The object is usually a fresh, undeveloped area — physical territory like the West or a frontier domain like AI.

verb
to reclaim wastelandto pioneer (in a field)

Examples

  • 拓荒。
    Tā men jué dìng qù xī bù tuò huāng.
    They decided to go west to reclaim wasteland.
  • 。
    Tā zài zhè piàn tǔ dì shàng tuò le huāng.
    He reclaimed wasteland on this land.
  • 拓荒。
    Zhè wèi kē xué jiā zài rén gōng zhì néng lǐng yù tuò huāng.
    This scientist pioneered in the field of artificial intelligence.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

拓tuòopen up
荒huāngwasteland

拓 means open up and 荒 means wasteland, so 拓荒 means opening up wasteland.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí拓tuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拓 uses 扌, the hand radical, on the left, and 石 on the right as a sound part.

Open 拓 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss, plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
巟
巟huāng荒huāng
Same sound today

荒 is built from 艹 (grass, plant) and 巟, with 巟 giving the sound huāng.

Open 荒 →

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