深山 (shēn shān) — remote mountains; the depths of the mountains

Definition

Literary term for the deep, remote interior of a mountain range — used in writing rather than everyday speech. Refers to a place that is far from human settlement, not just any hilly area.

noun
remote mountainsthe depths of the mountains
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 深山,。
    Tā men zǒu jìn le shēn shān, xún zhǎo yì zhǒng xī yǒu de yào cái.
    They walked into the remote mountains to search for a rare medicinal herb.
  • 深山。
    shēn shān Lǐ zhù zhe yí wèi yǐn jū de lǎo rén.
    In the depths of the mountains lives a reclusive old man.
  • 深山。
    Cóng shēn shān liú chū lái de quán shuǐ fēi cháng qīng chè.
    The spring water flowing from the remote mountains is very clear.

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.

山shānmountain

深 describes depth or remoteness and 山 means mountains, so the word means deep mountains.

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

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

Open 深 →

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

山 shows three mountain peaks side by side.

Open 山 →

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