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场

field; place; venue

chǎng
6 strokes · 土 (earth radical) + 𠃓 (sound, from 昜) · HSK 2

场 in traditional Chinese

場

What 场 is made of

土 + 𠃓 = 场
土earth; soil; land tǔ
𠃓twisting stroke

Where 场 comes from

场 grounds itself in earth 土: originally the flat threshing ground where a village beat its grain. Any leveled open space inherited the name — markets, stages, airports, battlefields.

场 in Chinese culture

机场 airport, 广场 public square, 市场 market, 操场 schoolyard, 上场 to take the stage or field. 场 is also the measure word for events: 一场雨 a fall of rain, 一场电影 a showing of a film — life counted in venues.

Example

机场 jīchǎng — airport

我们去机场接他。
Wǒmen qù jīchǎng jiē tā.
We're going to the airport to pick him up.

How to remember it

Flattened earth 土 — every FIELD, SQUARE, and VENUE stands on it.

广场舞 'square dancing' — grandmothers dancing en masse in public squares at dusk — is China's biggest fitness movement, complete with turf disputes over the best 场.

Same sound, different tones

昌
1st chāng
prosperous
长
2nd cháng
long
场
3rd chǎng
field
唱
4th chàng
to sing

Words unlocked by 场

机场 jīchǎng
airport
广场 guǎngchǎng
public square
上场 shàngchǎng
to take the stage/field

Related characters

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