江北 (Jiāng běi) — area north of the Yangtze River (referring to t…

Definition

noun

area north of the Yangtze River (referring to the region north of the Yangtze, especially in Jiangsu and Anhui)

江北，。
Wǒ jiā zhù zài Jiāng běi, lí cháng jiāng bù yuǎn.
My home is in the area north of the Yangtze River, not far from the river.
江北。
Jiāng běi Zhè piàn qū yù zuì jìn fā zhǎn hěn kuài.
This area north of the Yangtze has been developing very fast recently.
江北。
Wǒ men jì huà míng nián qù Jiāng běi kǎo chá.
We plan to go to the area north of the Yangtze on a survey next year.

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.

江 is the river and 北 the north side, naming the region north of the Yangtze.

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.

氵工江

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng江jiāng

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

江 puts 氵, the water side, beside 工, which gives a sound; the water part points to its river meaning.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 北 shows two people standing back to back. It originally meant 'back'.