河神 (hé shén) — river god | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

river god

Measure word · 位

Examples

河神，。
Rén men měi nián dōu huì jì sì hé shén, qí qiú píng ān.
People worship the river god every year to pray for safety.
，河神。
Chuán shuō zhōng, hé shén zhù zài hé dǐ de shuǐ jīng gōng lǐ.
In legends, the river god lives in a crystal palace at the bottom of the river.
河神。
Gǔ dài rén rèn wéi hé shén néng kòng zhì hóng shuǐ.
Ancient people believed the river god could control floods.

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.

河 names the river and 神 names a deity, together denoting a deity of a river.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

何

何hé河hé

Same sound today

河 pairs 水 (water) with 何, which gives the sound. The 水 part marks it as a word for a river.

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

示示shìgod; deity

Sound part声符shēngfú

申

申shēn神shén

Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

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