墙

• Pinyin: qiáng
• Hanzi breakdown: 墙 = 土 (earth radical, semantic) + right side is the phonetic component; traditional form 牆

Meaning

Wall; a vertical structure made of brick, stone, or other materials that encloses or divides a space.

Refers to both interior and exterior walls. Common compounds include 围墙 (enclosing wall), 城墙 (city wall), and 墙壁 (wall surface). Also used in the compound 长城 (Great Wall, though this uses 城 rather than 墙). Very common in descriptions of homes and buildings.

Examples

1. 墙上挂着一幅画。 There is a painting hanging on the wall.
2. 这面墙是白色的。 This wall is white.
3. 小猫跳到了墙上。 The little cat jumped onto the wall.

Usage Guide

Context: home, architecture, description

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 把这幅画挂到墙上吧。(Let's hang this painting on the wall.)
• 墙的颜色很好看。(The colour of the wall looks nice.)

Don't Say

• 不要混淆墙和壁 (墙 is the common word for wall in everyday speech; 壁 is more literary — don't use 壁 alone in casual conversation; use 墙 or 墙壁)

Origin & History

Phonosemantic compound: 土 (tǔ, earth) as the semantic radical indicating construction material, + a phonetic component on the right. Walls were traditionally made of packed earth.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal