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宫阙

宮闕
gōngquè
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 palace
  2. 2 imperial palace (literary)

Examples

巍峨的宫阙在夕阳下闪耀。
Wēi'é de gōngquè zài xīyáng xià shǎnyào.
The towering palace shimmered in the setting sun.
诗人笔下的宫阙总带着几分忧伤。
Shīrén bǐ xià de gōngquè zǒng dàizhe jǐ fēn yōushāng.
Poets always paint imperial palaces with a touch of melancholy.
故宫的宫阙曾经是明清两代的政治中心。
Gùgōng de gōngquè céngjīng shì Míng-Qīng liǎng dài de zhèngzhì zhōngxīn.
The palaces of the Forbidden City were once the political heart of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Tips

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宫阙 is literary, mostly seen in classical poetry and historical writing. For everyday 'palace' say 宫殿 (gōngdiàn).

In Pop Culture

不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年 Bù zhī tiānshàng gōngquè, jīnxī shì hé nián
Not knowing what year it is tonight in the celestial palace
Famous line from Su Shi's 《水调歌头》(Shuǐ Diào Gē Tóu, 1076), one of the most quoted Mid-Autumn Festival poems in Chinese.

Stroke Order

宫 gōng
阙 què