群山 (qún shān) — mountains, a group of mountains

Definition

noun
mountainsa group of mountains
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • ,群山。
    Zhàn zài shān dǐng, kě yǐ kàn dào lián mián de qún shān.
    Standing on the mountaintop, you can see the rolling mountains.
  • 群山,。
    Zhè piàn qún shān bèi yún wù lǒng zhào, xiàng yì fú shuǐ mò huà.
    This range of mountains is shrouded in clouds and mist, like an ink painting.
  • 群山。
    qún shān Zhī jiān yǒu yì tiáo qīng chè de xiǎo hé.
    There is a clear stream among the mountains.

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.

群qúngroup
山shānmountain

群 means a group and 山 means mountain, so it names many mountains.

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
君
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

群 pairs 羊, a sheep, to point to a herd or group, with 君 giving the sound.

Open 群 →

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

山 shows three mountain peaks side by side.

Open 山 →

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