金陵 (Jīn líng) — Jinling (ancient name for Nanjing)

Definition

金陵 is the ancient poetic name for Nanjing, used in literature and historical writing rather than modern everyday speech.

noun
Jinling (ancient name for Nanjing)

Examples

  • 金陵，。
    Jīn líng Shì liù cháo gǔ dū, lì shǐ yōu jiǔ.
    Jinling was the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, with a long history.
  • 金陵。
    Lǐ bái xiě guò hěn duō guān yú Jīn líng de shī.
    Li Bai wrote many poems about Jinling.
  • 金陵，。
    Jīn líng De qiū tiān tè bié měi, hěn duō rén qù nà lǐ lǚ yóu.
    Jinling's autumn is especially beautiful, and many people go there to travel.

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.

金jīngold
陵línghill

金 (gold) and 陵 (hill) recall a gold-colored hill, the old name for Nanjing.

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.

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →

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

  • 阜阜fùmound
  • 夌夌língmound; hill

The shape pairs 阜 (mound) with 夌, an earlier form meaning “mound; hill” that gives the sound.

Open 陵 →

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