Definitions

chí (noun) pond; reservoir; moat

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character 池, formed by the water radical (氵) coupled with the component 也 acting primarily as a phonetic element, originally designated the artificial trenches or moats built for civic defense around walled settlements. Its semantic scope gradually widened from these constructed waterways to encompass any confined and often static water feature, including garden ponds, reservoirs, and natural pools, while its structural composition remained unchanged. This shift in meaning from a specific fortified ditch to a more general aquatic concept reflects alterations in practical usage and the character's adaptation to describe both human-made and natural environments.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image
Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

塘边有一棵树。

Chí táng biān yǒu yī kē shù。

There is a tree beside the pond.

这个游泳的水很干净。

Zhè ge yóu yǒng chí de shuǐ hěn gān jìng。

The water in this swimming pool is very clean.

公园的塘里养着很多鱼。

Gōng yuán de chí táng lǐ yǎng zhe hěn duō yú。

There are many fish raised in the park's pond.

请给遥控器换一节新电

Qǐng gěi yáo kòng qì huàn yī jié xīn diàn chí。

Please change the remote control to a new battery.

这座城市曾有一座坚固的城

Zhè zuò chéng shì céng yǒu yī zuò jiān gù de chéng chí。

This city once had a sturdy city wall and moat.

这些数据暂时被放入缓存

Zhè xiē shù jù zàn shí bèi fàng rù huǎn cún chí。

This data is temporarily placed into the cache pool.

工人们正在清理沉淀的污泥。

Gōng rén men zhèng zài qīng lǐ chén diàn chí de wū ní。

The workers are cleaning the sludge from the sedimentation tank.

那个地区分布着许多天然的盐

Nà ge dì qū fēn bù zhe xǔ duō tiān rán de yán chí。

That area is distributed with many natural salt ponds.