相接 (xiāng jiē) — to connect, to join (in close succession); to meet (of paths, rivers, or forces)

Definition

相接 (xiāngjiē) means two things meeting and joining at a point — rivers, roads, or edges touching. It implies direct physical contact, more concrete than the looser 接触.

verb
to connectto join (in close succession)to meet (of paths, rivers, or forces)

Examples

  • 相接。
    Liǎng tiáo hé zài chéng wài huì hé xiāng jiē.
    The two rivers meet and join outside the city.
  • 相接。
    Tā men shǒu wěi xiāng jiē xíng chéng le yì tiáo cháng lóng.
    They connected end to end, forming a long dragon.
  • 。
    Liǎng jūn zài zhàn chǎng shàng duǎn bīng xiāng jiē.
    The two armies engaged in close combat on the battlefield.

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.

相xiāngmutual
接jiējoin

相 (mutual) + 接 (join): to connect or meet with each other.

Characters in this word

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

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
妾
妾qiè接jiē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, matching the sense of receiving something in the hand, while 妾 gives the character its sound.

Open 接 →

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