石城 (Shí chéng) — see 石城縣|石城县[Shi2 cheng2 Xian4]

Definition

Proper name for Shicheng, a county in Jiangxi province famous for navel oranges. Used as a place name only — not translatable as 'stone city' in ordinary speech.

noun
see 石城縣|石城县[Shi2 cheng2 Xian4]

Examples

  • 石城，。
    Shí chéng Shì jiāng xī de yí gè xiàn, yǐ qí chéng wén míng.
    Shicheng is a county in Jiangxi, famous for its navel oranges.
  • 石城。
    Wǒ cóng Shí chéng zuò huǒ chē qù běi jīng.
    I took a train to Beijing from Shicheng.
  • 石城？。
    Nǐ qù guò Shí chéng ma? nà lǐ de fēng jǐng hěn hǎo.
    Have you been to Shicheng? The scenery there is great.

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.

石shístone
城chéngcity

石 gives stone and 城 gives city, forming a place name meaning stone city.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

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
土土tǔsoil
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng城chéng
Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

Open 城 →

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