榭 (xiè) · pavilion (built on a terrace, typically by water)

Measure Word

一座榭 zuò

Meanings

1 pavilion (built on a terrace, typically by water)
2 waterside pavilion / kiosk in a Chinese garden

Characters

榭

xiè

waterside pavilion

Examples

HSK 7-9

园林里有一座临水的榭。

Yuánlín lǐ yǒu yí zuò lín shuǐ de xiè.

There's a waterside pavilion in the garden.

HSK 7-9

苏州拙政园的水榭非常有名。

Sūzhōu Zhuōzhèng Yuán de shuǐxiè fēicháng yǒumíng.

The water pavilion at Suzhou's Humble Administrator's Garden is very famous.

HSK 7-9

他们在歌台舞榭中度过了一生。

Tāmen zài gētái wǔxiè zhōng dùguò le yìshēng.

They spent their lives on the singing platforms and dancing pavilions.

Tips

culture

A 榭 is one of the named structure types in classical Chinese garden architecture, alongside 亭 'pavilion', 台 'terrace', 阁 'tower', and 廊 'covered walkway'. It is specifically built on a raised platform and typically overhangs water - hence the very common compound 水榭 'water pavilion'. The set phrase 楼台亭榭 'multi-storey building, terrace, pavilion, kiosk' covers the whole vocabulary of classical garden buildings.

Components

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

Left tree radical, the indexing element - a 榭 was always wooden, a timber pavilion raised on a stone or earthen terrace. Same family as 楼 multistory building, 桥 bridge, 柱 pillar, 栏 railing - the architecture and joinery cluster.

phonetic

射 shè

to shoot

Right 射 supplies the sound, shifting shè to xiè through palatalization. There is a faint semantic echo too: the classical 榭 was a pavilion where archers practiced or where rulers reviewed military drills, so 'shooting' and 'terrace-pavilion' had a real-world link. Same phonetic in 谢 thank, 麝 musk deer.