隘口 (ài kǒu) — mountain pass; narrow strategic passage

Definition

noun

mountain passnarrow strategic passage

Measure word · 个

隘口。
Jūn duì bì xū tōng guò nà ge ài kǒu cái néng dào dá shān gǔ.
The army had to go through that mountain pass to reach the valley.
隘口，。
Zhè ge ài kǒu dì shì xiǎn yào, yì shǒu nán gōng.
This pass has a strategically dangerous terrain, easy to defend and hard to attack.
隘口。
Gǔ shí hou shāng duì cháng zǒu zhè tiáo ài kǒu.
In ancient times, merchant caravans often traveled through this pass.

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.

口kǒumouth/opening

隘 marks a narrow 口, a gap through mountains.

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.

阝益隘

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阝Written in full as阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

益

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.