岸 (àn) · shore; bank; coast

Meanings

1 shore; bank; coast

Characters

岸

àn

shore; bank; coast

山 (mountain) on top + 厂 + 干 - high ground by the water's edge

Examples

HSK 4

我们站在岸边看日落。

Wǒmen zhàn zài ànbiān kàn rìluò.

We stood on the shore watching the sunset.

HSK 5

船靠岸了。

Chuán kào'àn le.

The boat reached the shore.

HSK 7-9

河岸上种满了柳树。

Hé'àn shàng zhòng mǎn le liǔshù.

The riverbank is lined with willow trees.

Tips

usage

Common compounds: 河岸 (riverbank), 海岸 (coast), 岸边 (shore side), 两岸 (both banks / both sides of the Taiwan Strait).

culture

两岸 ('both shores') is a political term referring to mainland China and Taiwan - the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Components

radical

山 shān

mountain

Top mountain radical - the indexing radical, pictograph of three peaks. Marks 岸 as a high-rising landform: the steep edge where land meets water, originally pictured as a small bluff over the river. Anchors it in the topographical family with 岛 (island), 岭 (ridge), 岩 (cliff).

semantic

厂 hǎn

cliff; overhang

Middle 厂 - a slanting overhang radical, drawing the lip of the cliff. Tucked under the mountain on top, it reinforces the bank-edge imagery: a high overhanging bluff rather than a gentle slope. Same shape appears in 厌 (suppress), 厨 (kitchen), 厕 (latrine - all originally things kept under shelter).

phonetic

干 gān

shield; dry

Bottom 干 supplies the sound - gān drifted to àn through onset shift. The 'dry' sense is incidentally apt: a riverbank is dry ground bordering wet water. Same phonetic appears in 杆 (pole), 肝 (liver), 赶 (chase). Modern compounds: 海岸 seashore, 河岸 riverbank, 上岸 to come ashore.