摩天大厦 (mó tiān dà shà) — skyscraper

Definition

noun
skyscraper
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 摩天大厦。
    Wǒ zhù zài yí dòng mó tiān dà shà lǐ.
    I live in a skyscraper.
  • 摩天大厦。
    Zhè zuò mó tiān dà shà yǒu bā shí céng gāo.
    This skyscraper is eighty floors high.
  • 摩天大厦。
    Cóng mó tiān dà shà dǐng shàng kě yǐ kàn jiàn zhěng gè chéng shì.
    From the top of the skyscraper you can see the whole city.

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.

摩天touching the sky
摩mótouch天tiānsky
动宾Verb + object
大厦large building
大dàlarge厦shàbuilding
偏正Modifier + head

摩天 means touching the sky and 大厦 means a large building, so it describes a building reaching upward.

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má摩mó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

摩 combines 手 (hand) with 麻; the hand part relates to the meaning, and 麻 gives the sound.

Open 摩 →

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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 廈; 厦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
夏
夏xià廈shà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 廈 pairs 广, which contributes the building sense, with 夏, which gives the sound and also means 'great'; the simplified 厦 is a later shorthand.

Open 厦 →

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