Definitions

jiāng (noun) river

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "江" originated in early Chinese as a specific reference to the Yangtze River, constructed from the water radical alongside the component "工", which likely served a phonetic function given the historical pronunciation of the character. This combination inherently linked the character to concepts of water and flow, with the meaning gradually extending from that singular great river to encompass large rivers in general. Through linguistic development, "江" has maintained its aquatic significance while becoming a versatile element in toponyms and descriptive terms for rivers, demonstrating a semantic expansion that parallels the evolving needs of the language.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image
Bronze Mid Warring States (~300 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 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)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这条很宽。

Zhè tiáo jiāng hěn kuān.

This river is very wide.

水清澈见底。

Jiāng shuǐ qīng chè jiàn dǐ.

The river water is so clear you can see the bottom.

我们在边散步。

Wǒmen zài jiāng biān sànbù.

We are walking by the river.

春天时,面很平静。

Chūntiān shí, jiāng miàn hěn píngjìng.

In spring, the river surface is very calm.

流过许多城市。

Cháng Jiāng liúguò xǔduō chéngshì.

The Yangtze River flows through many cities.

这条比那条更深。

Zhè tiáo jiāng bǐ nà tiáo jiāng gèng shēn.

This river is deeper than that river.

为了保护水,我们不要污染它。

Wèile bǎohù jiāng shuǐ, wǒmen bùyào wūrǎn tā.

In order to protect the river water, we should not pollute it.

由于连续降雨,水迅速上涨。

Yóuyú liánxù jiàngyǔ, jiāng shuǐ xùnsù shàngzhǎng.

Due to continuous rainfall, the river water is rising rapidly.