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皇宫 (huáng gōng) — imperial palace

Definition

皇宫 is the residence of an emperor, broader than 宫殿 (one building within a palace complex). More historical and royal than 宫廷, which also covers the court/politics.

noun
imperial palace
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 皇宫，。
    Zhè zuò huáng gōng jiàn yú míng cháo, yǒu liù bǎi duō nián de lì shǐ le.
    This imperial palace was built in the Ming Dynasty and is over 600 years old.
  • 皇宫。
    Yóu kè men kě yǐ cān guān huáng gōng lǐ de gè zhǒng gōng diàn.
    Visitors can tour the various palaces inside the imperial palace.
  • 皇宫，。
    Gù gōng shì míng qīng liǎng dài de huáng gōng, yě shì shì jiè wén huà yí chǎn.
    The Forbidden City was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it is also a world cultural heritage site.

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.

皇huángimperial
宫gōngpalace

皇宫 means the 宫 (palace) of the 皇 (imperial ruler).

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
𤼽𤼽𤼽
Sound part声符shēngfú
王
王wáng皇huáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The part 𤼽 originally drew a single peacock feather; 王 was later added to give the sound.

Open 皇 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 宮; 宫 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀mián
  • 呂呂lǚ

The traditional form 宮 is built from 宀 and 呂.

Open 宫 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Buildings & Structures

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