横贯 (héng guàn) — to traverse; to span across

Definition

verb

to traverseto span across

横贯。
Zhè tiáo tiě lù héng guàn le zhěng gè guó jiā.
This railway traverses the entire country.
横贯。
Yí zuò dà qiáo héng guàn zài jiāng miàn shàng.
A large bridge spans across the river.
横贯。
Zhè tiáo shān mài cóng dōng xiàng xī héng guàn.
This mountain range traverses from east to west.

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.

“横” (across) and “贯” (pierce) combine to mean extending across something.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 橫; 横 is its simplified writing.

木黃橫

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùwood

Sound part声符shēngfú

黃

黃huáng橫héng

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

The traditional form 橫 has 木, meaning wood, beside 黃, which supplies the sound; the simplified 横 is a later abbreviation.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貫; 贯 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 貫 originally showed two shells strung together; the simplified 贯 is a later abbreviation.