拓荒者 (tuò huāng zhě) — pioneer, trailblazer, pathbreaker | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

pioneertrailblazerpathbreaker

Examples

拓荒者。
Nà wèi kē xué jiā shì yī xué lǐng yù de tuò huāng zhě.
That scientist is a pioneer in the medical field.
拓荒者。
Zǎo qī de tuò huāng zhě wèi hòu rén pū píng le dào lù.
The early pioneers paved the way for later generations.
拓荒者。
Tā bèi chēng wéi kē jì jiè de tuò huāng zhě.
He is called a pioneer in the technology industry.

Origin

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

拓荒open up wasteland

拓tuòopen up荒huāngwasteland

动宾Verb + object

拓 means 'open up', 荒 means 'wasteland', and 者 points to a person, so it names someone who opens up new land.

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.

扌石拓

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.

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

艹巟荒

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.

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

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.

Appears in

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