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故乡 (gù xiāng) — hometown, native place

Definition

故乡 (gùxiāng) means 'hometown, native place,' often with a nostalgic, literary tone. More formal and emotional than 家乡, which is the neutral everyday word.

noun
hometownnative place
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 故乡。
    Wǒ cháng cháng xiǎng qǐ gù xiāng.
    I often think of my hometown.
  • 故乡。
    gù xiāng De fēng jǐng fēi cháng měi.
    The scenery of my hometown is very beautiful.
  • 故乡。
    Wǒ hěn jiǔ méi huí gù xiāng le.
    I haven't been back to my hometown for a long time.

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.

故gùformer
乡xiānghometown

故 (former) and 乡 (hometown) mean one's former hometown.

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
攵Written in full as攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ故gù
Same sound today

故 uses 古 for the sound and 攵, written in full as 攴, for the meaning.

Open 故 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鄉; 乡 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠨍𠨍𠨍two people facing each other
  • 皀皀jía round-mouthed food vessel

The traditional form 鄉 combines two people facing each other with a round-mouthed food vessel, depicting a feast. The village meaning is connected to this feasting event.

Open 乡 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 6City & Urban

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