隘 (ài) — (bound form) narrow; (bound form) a mountain pass, a defile

Definition

隘 (ài) is a bound-form morpheme meaning 'narrow' (literal or metaphorical — e.g. 狭隘 'narrow-minded') or 'mountain pass.' It only appears inside compounds like 狭隘 or 关隘, never alone.

bound form
narrowa mountain passa defile
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，。
    Zhè tiáo shān lù fēi cháng xiá ài, zhǐ néng yí gè rén tōng guò.
    This mountain path is very narrow; only one person can pass through.
  • 隘。
    Gǔ dài zhè lǐ shì yí gè zhòng yào de guān ài.
    In ancient times, this was an important mountain pass.
  • ，。
    Tā de sī xiǎng fēi cháng xiá ài, bú yuàn yì jiē shòu xīn guān niàn.
    His thinking is very narrow; he is unwilling to accept new ideas.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
益
益yì隘ài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 隘, the left 阝, written in full as 阜, gives the meaning, and the right 益 gives the sound.

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