村镇 (cūn zhèn) — villages and towns

Definition

noun
villages and towns

Examples

  • 村镇。
    Zhè ge cūn zhèn de fēng jǐng hěn měi.
    The scenery of this village/town is very beautiful.
  • 村镇。
    Hěn duō cūn zhèn dōu yǒu le xīn de gōng lù.
    Many villages and towns now have new roads.
  • 村镇。
    Tā cóng xiǎo zài cūn zhèn zhǎng dà.
    He grew up in a village/town.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

村cūnvillage
镇zhèntown

The characters '村' village and '镇' town are parallel places, together meaning villages and towns.

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
寸
寸cùn村cūn
Same sound today

村 pairs 木 (tree) with 寸 as a sound hint; its origin is unclear.

Open 村 →

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 鎮; 镇 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
真
真zhēn鎮zhèn
Same sound today

The traditional form 鎮 uses 金, metal, and 真, which gave its sound; it depicted pressing down with a metal weight. The simplified 镇 is a later abbreviation.

Open 镇 →

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