故里 (gù lǐ) — hometown; native place

Definition

Literary term for 'hometown / native place,' with a nostalgic tone. Compared to the everyday 家乡, 故里 sounds more formal and written, and often refers to the place someone left long ago.

noun
hometownnative place

Examples

  • ，故里。
    Měi nián chūn jié, tā dōu huì huí gù lǐ kàn kàn.
    Every Spring Festival, he goes back to his hometown to visit.
  • 故里。
    Lǔ xùn de gù lǐ xiàn zài shì zhù míng de lǚ yóu jǐng diǎn.
    Lu Xun's hometown is now a famous tourist attraction.
  • ，故里。
    Suī rán lí kāi duō nián, tā duì gù lǐ de gǎn qíng cóng wèi gǎi biàn.
    Although he left many years ago, his feelings for his native place have never changed.

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
里lǐvillage

故 means old or former, and 里 refers to a village or home area, so it means 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 →

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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