黄石 (Huáng shí) — Huangshi (city in Hubei Province)

Definition

noun
Huangshi (city in Hubei Province)

Examples

  • 黄石。
    Wǒ dǎ suàn míng nián qù Huáng shí lǚ yóu.
    I plan to travel to Huangshi next year.
  • 黄石。
    Huáng shí Shì hú běi shěng de yí gè zhòng yào chéng shì.
    Huangshi is an important city in Hubei Province.
  • 黄石。
    Tā zài Huáng shí gōng zuò le wǔ nián.
    He has worked in Huangshi for five years.

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
石shístone

黄 means yellow and 石 means stone, and the name Huangshi is built from them.

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 →

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

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

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