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街 (jiē) — street

Definition

Street — usually a busy road with shops and people, like a main thoroughfare in a town. 马路 is any road for vehicles; 街道 is the administrative "subdistrict" meaning, not just a road.

noun
street
Measure word · 条
Easily confused

Examples

  • 街。
    Zhè tiáo jiē hěn cháng.
    This street is very long.
  • 街。
    Wǒ měi tiān zǒu guò nà tiáo jiē.
    I walk along that street every day.
  • 街。
    jiē Liǎng biān de shāng diàn hěn duō.
    There are many shops on both sides of the street.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
圭
圭guī街jiē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

街 combines 行 and 圭: 行 is the meaning part, and 圭 is the sound part. Originally, 圭 drew a pair of ritual axes, not earth.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3City & Urban2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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