街口 (jiē kǒu) — street entrance, street corner (the point where…

Definition

The point where one street meets another — a corner or entrance to a street, often a landmark for meeting or giving directions (e.g. ‘在街口见面’).

noun

street entrancestreet corner (the point where a street meets another)

Measure word · 个

街口。
Tā men zài jiē kǒu jiàn miàn.
They met at the street corner.
街口。
jiē kǒu Yǒu yì jiā hěn xiǎo de kā fēi diàn.
There is a very small coffee shop at the street corner.
，街口。
Nǐ wǎng qián zǒu, dào le jiē kǒu zuǒ zhuǎn.
Walk straight ahead and turn left when you reach the street corner.

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.

口kǒumouth/opening

街 'street' specifies the 口 'mouth/opening', the street corner.

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

圭

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.

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

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Appears in