省 (shěng) — (noun) province; (noun) provincial capital

Definition

As a noun, 省 means 'province' — one of China's main administrative divisions (e.g. 河北省). 省会 specifically means the capital city of a 省.

noun

provinceprovincial capital

Measure word · 个

省。
Zhè ge shěng de jīng jì zhèng zài kuài sù fā zhǎn.
This province's economy is developing rapidly.
省。
shěng Zhèng fǔ jué dìng xiū jiàn yì tiáo xīn gāo sù gōng lù.
The provincial government decided to build a new expressway.
省。
Zhōng guó de měi gè shěng dōu yǒu zì jǐ dú tè de wén huà.
Every province in China has its own unique culture.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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

The upper part of 省 is a changed form of 生, which gave the sound, while the lower 目 is an eye; the picture showed looking closely or inspecting.

Appears in