半岛
bàn dǎo · HSK 7
peninsula
🏝️ half + island = peninsula, literally a half-island
bàn means half, dǎo means island. A peninsula is land almost surrounded by water — an island that is only halfway there, still connected to the mainland.
半 — 八 (split) + 牛 (ox/cow)
半 originally depicted an ox (牛) being divided in two, shown by the splitting strokes 八 on top. The image of cleaving an ox down the middle gave rise to the meaning 'half' or 'to divide into halves'. The modern sense of 'half' or 'partial' comes directly from this ancient act of splitting.
岛 — mountain 山 + bird 鸟 (phonetic)
Originally written 嶹 or 㠀, depicting a bird (鸟) resting on a mountain (山) in the sea. The character is a semantic-phonetic compound: 山 gives the meaning 'mountain/land,' while 鸟 (bird) hints at the sound. It captures the image of an island as a small mountain where seabirds land.