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黄泉 (huáng quán) — the underworld; the land of the dead (in Chinese mythology)

Definition

Classical/literary word for the underworld where souls go after death. Far more formal than everyday 地府, and mostly found in written or poetic contexts.

noun
the underworldthe land of the dead (in Chinese mythology)

Examples

  • ，黄泉。
    Tā fā shì, jí shǐ dào le huáng quán yě bú huì wàng jì zhè fèn chóu hèn.
    He swore that even if he went to the underworld, he would not forget this hatred.
  • 黄泉，。
    Gǔ rén xiāng xìn rén sǐ hòu huì qù huáng quán, nà lǐ shì líng hún de guī sù.
    Ancient people believed that after death, one would go to the underworld, which is the final resting place of the soul.
  • 黄泉，。
    huáng quán Lù shang, tā xiǎng qǐ le yì shēng de diǎn diǎn dī dī.
    On the road to the underworld, he recalled every detail of his life.

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
泉quánspring

黄 means yellow and 泉 means spring, together naming the yellow spring of the underworld.

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 →

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

泉 pairs 白 (spring mouth) with 水 (water) to show water flowing from the source of a spring.

Open 泉 →
Appears in
Mythology & Folklore

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