黄河 (Huáng hé) — Yellow River

Definition

Proper name for China's Yellow River, the country's second-longest river and a major symbol of Chinese civilization (often called the 母亲河 'mother river').

noun
Yellow River
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 黄河。
    Huáng hé Shì zhōng guó dì èr cháng hé.
    The Yellow River is the second longest river in China.
  • 黄河。
    Huáng hé Shì zhōng guó de mǔ qīn hé.
    The Yellow River is China's mother river.
  • 黄河。
    Wǒ men zuò chuán yóu lǎn le Huáng hé.
    We took a boat trip on the Yellow River.

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.

黄huángyellow
河hériver

黄 names the color yellow and 河 names the river, giving the Yellow River.

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 黃; 黄 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
炗
炗guāng黃huáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 黃 pairs 田 (field) with 炗 (light), which gives the sound; the simplified 黄 is a shorthand and its parts are not historical components.

Open 黄 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
何
何hé河hé
Same sound today

河 pairs 水 (water) with 何, which gives the sound. The 水 part marks it as a word for a river.

Open 河 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.