运河 (yùn hé) — canal | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

运河 specifically means a man-made waterway for ships or transport, like the Grand Canal. 渠道 is the same word for an irrigation ditch, or figuratively a 'channel' of communication.

noun

canal

Measure word · 条

Examples

运河。
Zhè tiáo yùn hé shì gǔ dài xiū jiàn de.
This canal was built in ancient times.
运河。
yùn hé Liǎng àn yǒu hěn duō gōng chǎng.
There are many factories on both sides of the canal.
运河。
Tā men jì huà kuò jiàn zhè tiáo yùn hé.
They plan to expand this canal.

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.

运yùntransport

河hériver

“运” (transport) and “河” (river) combine to mean a river used for transport.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 運; 运 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuòmotion

Sound part声符shēngfú

軍

軍jūn運yùn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 運 combines 辵, meaning motion, with 軍 to give the sound; the simplified 运 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 运 →

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

何

何hé河hé

Same sound today

河 pairs 水 (water) with 何, which gives the sound. The 水 part marks it as a word for a river.

Open 河 →

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Geography & Landforms