集散地 (jí sàn dì) — hub, distribution center, collecting and distributing center

Definition

A place where goods, information, or people gather and then disperse outward — literally 'collect-and-scatter spot'. Often translated as 'hub' or 'distribution center' for cargo, data, or people flows.

noun
hub, distribution center, collecting and distributing center

Examples

  • 集散地。
    Zhè ge gǎng kǒu shì zhòng yào de huò wù jí sàn dì.
    This port is an important cargo distribution center.
  • 集散地。
    Yì wū shì wén míng shì jiè de xiǎo shāng pǐn jí sàn dì.
    Yiwu is a world-famous hub for small commodities.
  • 集散地。
    Zhè zuò chéng shì chéng le qū yù xìng de xìn xī jí sàn dì.
    This city has become a regional information distribution center.

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.

集散collect and distribute
集jígather散sànscatter
联合Side by side
地dìplace

集 means gather and 散 means distribute, describing a 地 that collects and sends goods.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

集 pairs 隹 (bird) with 木 (tree), showing birds on a tree, hence a gathering.

Open 集 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 林林líntrees, forest
  • 攴攴pūto knock, to tap

散 combines 林 (trees or forest) and 攴 (to knock or tap), originally showing knocking to clear vegetation, later extended to breaking up or dispersing.

Open 散 →

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tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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