顶峰 (dǐng fēng) — peak, summit, pinnacle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Both a literal mountain 'peak/summit' and a figurative 'pinnacle, highest point' of an achievement or career (as in 事业的顶峰). The concrete top sense dominates at HSK 7.

noun

peaksummitpinnacle

Examples

顶峰。
Dēng shān duì yuán zhōng yú dēng shàng le dǐng fēng.
The climbers finally reached the summit.
顶峰。
Zhè shì tā shì yè shàng de dǐng fēng shí kè.
This was the pinnacle moment of his career.
顶峰。
Nà zuò shān de dǐng fēng bèi yún wù lǒng zhào zhe.
The peak of that mountain is shrouded in clouds.

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.

顶 (top) + 峰 (peak) gives the highest point of a mountain or stage.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頂; 顶 is its simplified writing.

丁頁頂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng頂dǐng

Same sound today

The traditional form 頂 pairs 頁, meaning head, with 丁, which supplies the sound; the simplified 顶 is a later abbreviation.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

山夆峰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

山山shānmountain

Sound part声符shēngfú

夆

夆páng峰fēng

Same sound today

峰 combines 山 (mountain) with 夆, which gives the character its sound.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

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