陡峭 (dǒu qiào) — steep, precipitous | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

形容山势或坡度又高又陡，几乎垂直。More dramatic than 陡, which simply means 'steep' without the sense of vertical severity.

adjective

steepprecipitous

Examples

陡峭。
Zhè dòng lóu de lóu tī fēi cháng dǒu qiào.
The staircase of this building is very steep.
陡峭，。
Qián miàn yǒu yí duàn dǒu qiào de xià pō lù, kāi chē yào xiǎo xīn.
There's a steep downhill stretch ahead; drive carefully.
，陡峭。
Cóng shān dǐng kàn qù, sì zhōu dōu shì dǒu qiào de xuán yá.
Looking from the summit, there are steep cliffs all around.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

峭qiàosheer

陡 and 峭 both describe a sharply rising or falling surface; together they mean steep or precipitous.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阜阜fùsoil mountain

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào峭qiào

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 峭 shows 山, mountain, paired with 肖 for sound; an earlier shape used 阜, a mound, instead of 山.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Geography & Landforms

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