(shā mò) - desert in Mandarin
shāmòTraditional: 沙漠
Translation
desert
Word origin
A compound of 沙 (shā, sand) and 漠 (mò, vast and empty), both written with the water radical because a desert is defined by the water it lacks.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 沙 (shā, sand; 氵 water + 少 few) + 漠 (mò, vast, desolate; 氵 water + 莫 phonetic)
Stroke order
沙
漠
Examples
。
It rarely rains in the desert.
。
They drove across the desert.
，。
The desert is hot by day and cold at night.
。
This desert is bigger than a country.
。
There is life in the desert too.
沙漠 (shā mò) is a desert, and the characters are quietly clever: both carry the water radical 氵, and 沙 is literally "little water". Chinese names the place by what is missing from it.
Use 片 (piàn) to count deserts and other spreading expanses: 一片沙漠. For location, 沙漠里 is the usual choice, treating the desert as an interior you are inside rather than a surface you are on.
The trap is the English adjective. "Deserted" has nothing to do with this word; that is 荒 or 没有人. And a dessert is 甜点, which shares no character and no sound at all.
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沙漠: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "沙漠" (desert): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 50.