(zhèn) - town, small town in Mandarin
zhènTraditional: 鎮
Translation
town, small town
Word origin
A phono-semantic character with 金 (metal) for sense and 真 (zhēn) for sound. It first meant to press down or hold a place, hence a garrison, and then the town that grew around one.
- Origin
- phono-semantic
- Root
- 金 (jīn, metal) + 真 (zhēn, phonetic)
Stroke order
镇
Examples
。
We live in a small town.
。
This town has only one hospital.
。
It takes an hour to get from the city to the town.
。
Everyone in the town knows him.
。
He opened a little shop in the town.
镇 (zhèn) is a town: bigger than a village, smaller than a city, and in mainland China an actual level of local government sitting below the county. 小镇 is the everyday way to say a small town.
The word takes 上 rather than 里 for most locational uses. 镇上有一家医院 is the natural phrasing, in the same way English says "in town" rather than "inside the town". Learners who reach for 在镇里 are understood but sound translated.
The character has a second life as a verb meaning to hold down or to calm: 镇静 is composure, 镇痛 is pain relief, and a 镇 was originally a garrison posted to keep a district quiet. That is the thread back to the metal radical.
Where this fits
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueMandarin · Free printables
镇: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "镇" (town, small town): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 50.