沿河 (yán hé) — along the river | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

沿 (yán) is a directional/locative word meaning 'along', as in 沿河 ('along the river'). It can also pair with other nouns like 沿岸 ('along the coast') or 沿着 + noun.

adverb

along the river

Examples

沿河。
yán hé Yǒu yì tiáo xiǎo lù.
There is a path along the river.
沿河。
Tā men xǐ huan bàng wǎn yán hé sàn bù.
They like to take a walk along the river in the evening.
沿河。
Zhè zuò chéng shì yán hé ér jiàn.
This city was built along the river (constructed next to the river).

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

沿yánfollow along

河hériver

沿 means follow along and 河 means river, giving along the 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

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

㕣

㕣㕣沿yán

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

沿 pairs 氵 (water) with 㕣, which shows how it was pronounced; it originally meant the edge of a river, which led to the sense of moving along something.

Open 沿 →

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.

Open 河 →

Appears in

Directions Geography & Landforms