陡坡 (dǒu pō) — steep slope

Definition

noun
steep slope
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 陡坡,。
    Qián miàn yǒu yí gè dǒu pō, kāi chē yào xiǎo xīn.
    There is a steep slope ahead; drive carefully.
  • 陡坡,。
    Zhè ge dǒu pō tài dǒu le, qí chē hěn nán shàng qù.
    This steep slope is too steep; it's hard to ride a bike up.
  • 陡坡。
    Xià yǔ tiān zǒu dǒu pō hěn róng yì huá dǎo.
    Walking on a steep slope on rainy days makes it easy to slip and fall.

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.

陡dǒusteep
坡pōslope

陡 gives steepness, and 坡 is a slope, so together they mean a steep slope.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 陡 →

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
土土tǔdirt
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí坡pō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

坡 combines 土, shown as dirt, with 皮, a part used for sound.

Open 坡 →

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