zhèn
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 drainage ditch between fields (dialect)
  2. 2 used in place names, notably 深圳 (Shenzhen)

Examples

HSK 3
Hěnduō niánqīngrén qù Shēnzhèn chuàngyè.
Many young people go to Shenzhen to start businesses.
HSK 4
Shēnzhèn shì Zhōngguó zuì xiàndàihuà de chéngshì zhīyī.
Shenzhen is one of China's most modern cities.

Tips

usage
is a southern dialect word for a field drainage ditch. Today nearly everyone meets it only in 深圳, the tech-hub city next to Hong Kong, originally named for such a 'deep ditch'.

Components

radical
earth; ground
The earth radical fits a ditch dug into the ground between fields, the original meaning of .
semantic
chuān
river; stream
pictures flowing water between banks. Combined with the earth radical it reinforces the image of a small water channel cut through farmland.

Stroke Order

zhèn