洱 (ěr): used in place names, esp. Erhai…

Meanings

1 used in place names, esp. Erhai Lake in Yunnan

Characters

洱

ěr

Erhai Lake (place name)

Examples

HSK 5

我们骑车绕洱海骑了一整天。

Wǒmen qí chē rào Ěrhǎi qí le yì zhěngtiān.

We rode bikes for a whole day around Erhai Lake.

HSK 6

洱海就在大理古城旁边。

Ěrhǎi jiù zài Dàlǐ gǔchéng pángbiān.

Erhai Lake lies right next to the old town of Dali.

Tips

culture

洱海 (Erhai Lake) is a famous ear-shaped highland lake in Yunnan, beside the town of Dali. The character has essentially no use outside this name.

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water

The three-drop water radical, the left-side form of 水. It marks 洱 as a body of water, which fits its only real use: naming Erhai Lake.

phonetic

耳 ěr

ear

Gives both the sound ěr and, by lucky coincidence, a hint at the lake's ear-like shape. Standalone 耳 keeps the same reading.

Stroke Order

洱 ěr

Related Words

普洱茶 pǔěrchá

Pu'er tea / pu-erh tea (fermented tea from Yunnan)

普洱 pǔ'ěr

pu'er tea / Pu'er (city in Yunnan province)

洱海 Ěrhǎi

Erhai Lake (Yunnan) / second-largest highland lake in China

地位 dìwèi HSK 4 #4,157

position; status; standing / rank; place (in society)

参观 cānguān HSK 2 #4,147

to visit (a place) / to tour

返回 fǎnhuí HSK 5 #3,816

to return to; to go back / to get back to (a place or state)

代替 dàitì HSK 4 #3,556

to replace; to substitute / to take the place of

赶到 gǎndào HSK 3 #3,225

to rush to; to hurry to (a place) / to arrive in a hurry

放到 fàngdào HSK 3 #3,106

to put (somewhere); to place at / to leave (until a time)

斗 dǒu #2,761

dipper; ladle (esp. long-handled grain measure) / decaliter; peck (dry measure, ten 升) / cup-shaped or dipper-shaped object / the Big Dipper