暗影 (àn yǐng) — shadow; dark area (umbra) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

shadowdark area (umbra)

Examples

，暗影。
Yuè guāng xià, shù de àn yǐng lā dé hěn cháng.
Under the moonlight, the shadow of the tree stretches very long.
暗影，。
Tā duǒ zài àn yǐng lǐ, méi yǒu rén néng kàn jiàn tā.
He hid in the shadow, where no one could see him.
暗影。
Yí piàn jù dà de àn yǐng zhē bì le zhěng gè guǎng chǎng.
A huge shadow covered the entire square.

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.

“暗” means dark and “影” means shadow, together naming a dark shadow.

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.

日音暗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

音

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

暗 pairs 日 (sun) with 音, which gives the sound.

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

景彡影

Meaning part形符xíngfú

彡彡shān

Sound part声符shēngfú

景

景jǐng影yǐng

Same sound today

影 pairs 景, which gives the sound and also carries the idea of image, with 彡, the part that points to shadow.

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