溪水 (xī shuǐ) — mountain stream | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

mountain stream

Measure word · 条

Examples

溪水。
Shān jiān yǒu yì tiáo qīng chè de xī shuǐ.
There is a clear mountain stream between the mountains.
溪水。
Yè wǎn kě yǐ tīng dào xī shuǐ de liú shuǐ shēng.
At night you can hear the sound of flowing water from the stream.
溪水。
Wǒ men zài xī shuǐ biān yě cān.
We had a picnic by the stream.

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.

溪xīstream

溪 names a mountain stream and 水 names water, so the whole means stream water.

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.

氵奚溪

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

奚

奚xī溪xī

Same sound today

The 氵 on the left shows the character is about water, and 奚 on the right gives its sound.

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

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