郊 (jiāo) — (bound form) suburbs, outskirts; (literary) sacrifice to heaven and earth
Definition
郊 is a bound form meaning 'suburbs/outskirts,' used almost only in compounds like 郊区, 郊外. The literary sense 'ancient sacrifice to heaven and earth' is rare and mainly appears in classical texts.
bound form
suburbsoutskirts(literary) sacrifice to heaven and earth
Examples
- 。Wǒ men zhù zài shì jiāo.We live in the suburbs.
- 。Tā zài jiāo qū zhǎo le fèn xīn gōng zuò.He found a new job in the suburbs.
- 。Wǒ hěn jiǔ méi qù jiāo wài sàn bù le.I haven't gone for a walk in the outskirts in a long time.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
郊 pairs the meaning part 邑 (written as 阝) with 交, the sound part.
Appears in
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