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牧场 (mù chǎng) — pasture, grazing land, ranch

Definition

Land used for grazing livestock (cattle, sheep, horses) — the focus is on raising animals, not growing crops. Contrast with 农场 (farm), which centers on crops and cultivation.

noun
pasturegrazing landranch
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 牧场。
    Zhè piàn mù chǎng fēi cháng shì hé yǎng niú.
    This pasture is very suitable for raising cattle.
  • 牧场。
    Tā zài mù chǎng shàng jiàn le yí zuò xiǎo mù wū.
    He built a small wooden cabin on the ranch.
  • 牧场。
    Mù mín men bǎ yáng gǎn dào mù chǎng shàng chī cǎo.
    The herders drive the sheep to the pasture to graze.

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.

牧mùgraze
场chǎngplace

牧 (graze) and 场 (place) combine to mean a place for grazing animals.

Characters in this word

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

牧 puts 牛 (cow) beside 攴 (a whip), showing someone herding cattle.

Open 牧 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Agriculture & FarmingCountryside & Rural

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