shà / Xià
noun #55,938

Meanings

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

Examples

Shì zhōngxīn gāolóudàshà líncìzhìbǐ.
Skyscrapers stand row upon row in the city center.
Zhè zuò dàshà yǒu sānshí céng.
This office building has thirty floors.
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