银河 (yín hé) — Milky Way | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Milky Way

Measure word · 条

Examples

，银河。
Xià tiān de wǎn shàng, wǒ men kě yǐ zài tiān shàng kàn dào yín hé.
On summer nights, we can see the Milky Way in the sky.
银河。
yín hé Shì yóu wú shù kē xīng xing zǔ chéng de.
The Milky Way is made up of countless stars.
银河。
Gǔ dài zhōng guó rén bǎ yín hé jiào zuò tiān hé.
Ancient Chinese people called the Milky Way the 'Heavenly River'.

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.

银河 combines 银 silver and 河 river to name the bright band across the night sky.

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 銀; 银 is its simplified writing.

金艮銀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

艮gèn銀yín

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

The traditional form 銀 has 金, meaning metal, and 艮, used for the sound; the simplified 银 is a shorthand.

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.

Appears in

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