水沟 (shuǐ gōu) — ditch; drain; gutter | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ditchdraingutter

Measure word · 条

Examples

，水沟。
Yǔ tài dà, shuǐ gōu lǐ de shuǐ dōu mǎn le.
The rain was so heavy that the water in the ditch overflowed.
水沟。
Tā men wā le yì tiáo shuǐ gōu lái pái shuǐ.
They dug a drain to let the water out.
水沟。
Zhè tiáo shuǐ gōu xū yào qīng lǐ yí xià.
This gutter needs to be cleaned.

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.

“水” means water and “沟” means ditch, together naming a ditch carrying water.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

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 溝; 沟 is its simplified writing.

氵冓溝

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

冓

冓gòu溝gōu

Same sound today

The traditional form 溝 pairs 氵 (water) with 冓 for the sound; the simplified 沟 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical part.

Appears in

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