町 (dīng) — bound form meaning a raised path between fields; a field (in compounds or literary use)
Definition
町 (dīng) is a bound literary/archaic morph meaning a raised path between fields, or by extension a field itself. In modern Chinese it survives mainly in place names; learners will almost never see it used alone.
bound form
bound form meaning a raised path between fieldsa field (in compounds or literary use)
Easily confused
- 酊dīnglook-aliketincture (loanword, used in 酊剂 and compound terms)
- 丁dīngsound-alikefourth in a series (grade D, fourth Heavenly Stem, etc.)
- 盯dīnglook-aliketo stare at, to fix one's attention on, to gaze at
- 灯dēnglook-alikelamp; light
- 钉dìnglook-aliketo nail, to pin, to staple (fasten by driving a pointed object)
- 订dìnglook-aliketo order (goods, tickets, food, etc.), to book
Examples
- 町畦。Nóng mín zài tián jiān de dīng qí shàng zǒu zhe.The farmer is walking on the raised paths between the fields.
- “町”。Zhè ge dì míng zhōng de "dīng" zhǐ tián dì.The “町” in this place name refers to fields.
- “町”。Gǔ wén zhōng "dīng" cháng yòng lái biǎo shì tián jiān xiǎo lù.In classical texts, “町” is often used to denote a small path between fields.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
町 pairs 田, a field, with 丁, which gives the sound.
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