老城区 (Lǎo chéng qū) — old city district, historical center

Definition

A noun meaning the historic, older part of a city — the part with narrow streets, traditional shops, and cultural landmarks, as opposed to the modern 新城区. Refers to the area itself, not a small neighborhood.

noun
old city districthistorical center

Examples

  • 老城区。
    Zhè ge chéng shì de Lǎo chéng qū yǒu hěn duō bǎi nián lǎo diàn.
    This city's old district has many century-old shops.
  • 老城区，。
    Wǒ men zhù zài Lǎo chéng qū, lí nà xiē jǐng diǎn hěn jìn.
    We live in the old city district, very close to those attractions.
  • 老城区，。
    Lǎo chéng qū De jiē dào suī rán zhǎi, dàn shì hěn yǒu wèi dào.
    The streets in the old district are narrow, but they have a lot of character.

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.

老城old city
老lǎoold城chéngcity
偏正Modifier + head
区qūdistrict

老城 denotes the old city, and 区 denotes the district, together an old city district.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

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城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.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

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 區; 区 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 區 is made from 匸 and 品; the simplified 区 is a shorthand.

Open 区 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.