shà / Xià
noun #55,938

Meanings

  1. 1 tall building
  2. 2 mansion
  3. 3 rear annex; lean-to

Examples

HSK 2
Zhè zuò dàshà yǒu sānshí céng.
This office building has thirty floors.
HSK 7-9
Shì zhōngxīn gāolóu-dàshà líncì-zhìbǐ.
Skyscrapers stand row upon row in the city center.
HSK 7-9
Tāmen bān jìn le yí zuò zhǎnxīn de dàshà.
They moved into a brand-new high-rise.

Tips

mistakes
Read shà for 'tall building' (大厦, 'mansion'), but Xià for the city name 厦门 (Xiamen, in Fujian). Same character, different reading depending on whether you mean a building or the place.

Components

radical
chǎng
cliff; shelter
The cliff-shelter radical wraps the top and left, picturing a roof or eave overhanging a structure, which is fitting for a word meaning a large building.
phonetic
xià
summer
Sits under the shelter and supplies the sound: xià gives both readings shà and Xià. It carries no 'summer' meaning here.

Stroke Order

shà