Definition
井 (jǐng) primarily means a 'well' — a manmade shaft for drawing water. It is a concrete noun and is counted with 口. The English gloss 'neat' and 'orderly' actually come from the chengyu 井井有条 and 井然有序, where 井 is not a standalone word with that meaning. In modern Chinese, 井 as a noun only refers to a well or something shaped like a well.
noun
well (water well)
Measure word · 口
Easily confused
- 经jīngsound-aliketo pass through; to go through (a place, time, or experience)
- 敬jìngsound-aliketo respect, to show respect to
- 静jìngsound-alikestill, calm, quiet; not moving
- 精jīngsound-alikeskilled; proficient; refined (of ability)
- 竟jìngsound-alikeunexpectedly, actually (expressing surprise that something happened or is the case)
- 净jìngsound-alike(adjective) clean
- 鲸jīngsound-alikewhale
- 茎jīngsound-alikestem, stalk
Examples
- 井。Bàba cóng jǐng lǐ dǎ le yì tǒng shuǐ.Dad drew a bucket of water from the well.
- 井。Zhè kǒu jǐng yǐjīng yǒu èr bǎi duō nián lìshǐ le.This well has a history of more than two hundred years.
- 井。Cūnmín men yìqǐ wā le yì kǒu xīn jǐng.The villagers dug a new well together.
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