钟楼 (zhōng lóu) — bell tower; clock tower

Definition

noun

bell towerclock tower

Measure word · 座

钟楼。
Zhè zuò zhōng lóu shì míng dài xiū jiàn de.
This bell tower was built in the Ming dynasty.
钟楼，。
Cóng zhōng lóu dǐng shàng kàn xià qù, zhěng gè chéng shì yì lǎn wú yú.
Looking down from the top of the clock tower, you can see the whole city at a glance.
，钟楼。
Měi tiān zhōng wǔ, zhōng lóu dōu huì qiāo xiǎng zhěng diǎn zhōng shēng.
Every noon, the bell tower tolls the hour.

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.

钟zhōngbell/clock

The sense of '钟' (bell/clock) combines with '楼' (tower) to mean a bell or clock tower.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 樓; 楼 is its simplified writing.

木婁樓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

婁

婁lóu樓lóu

Same sound today

The traditional form 樓 pairs 木 (tree) with 婁 as its sound part; the simplified 楼 is a later shorthand.

Appears in