矶 (jī) — (bound form) projecting rock or cliff over water, often used in place names
Definition
A bound morph meaning a rock or small cliff jutting over water, used almost entirely as a suffix in scenic place names like 燕子矶 and 采石矶.
bound form
projecting rock or cliff over water, often used in place names
Easily confused
- 肌jīlook-alike(bound form) muscle
- 鸡jīsound-alikechicken
- 玑jīlook-alike(bound form) a pearl or bead that is not round; used in literary compounds
- 奇jīsound-alike(classifier) odd number (used after a number to count odd numbers)
- 叽jīlook-alike(onomatopoeia) chirp, twitter (sound of birds or small animals)
- 基jīsound-alike(bound form) base; foundation; fundamental
Examples
- 矶。Jiāng biān de jī shí hěn dǒu qiào.The rocks by the river are very steep.
- 矶。Yàn zi jī shì nán jīng de yí gè lì shǐ míng shèng.Yanziji is a historical scenic spot in Nanjing.
- 矶。Cǎi shí jī wèi yú cháng jiāng biān shàng.Caishiji is located on the banks of the Yangtze River.
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.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 磯; 矶 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
幾
幾jī磯jī
Same sound today
The traditional form 磯 is made from 石 (stone) for the meaning and 幾 for the sound.
Appears in
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