Character etymology for Elementary - Keys, Wallet, Phone 东

mandarinboy

September 11, 2008, 04:45 AM posted in General Discussion

Today we will look at all four cardinal points starting with 东. 

 

Character: 东

Traditional form: 東

 

Pinyin: dōng

 

Meaning: east, eastern, eastward

HSK level: 1 (basic)

Frequency: 155

Strokes: 5

 

Radical part: 一

Stroke order: http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/character-stroke-order.php?searchChinese=1&zi=%E4%B8%9C

Stroke animation: (the strokes are drawn the direction the picture is tipping)

Etymology: The original shape:

 

 

Man looked to the east to find an suitable sign for this direction. What he

found where the sun(日,rì) going up behind a tree (木,mù) = 東 ,the sun going up over a tree in the east.

 

Example words:

东西 dōngxi things; objects
东边 dōngbiān eastern side
东北 dōngběi northeast
东南 dōngnán southeast
东方 dōngfāng the East; Eastern countries
东部 dōngbù the east; the eastern part
东京 dōngjīng Tokyo (capital of Japan)