地铁站
dì tiě zhàn · HSK 2
subway station
🚇 地铁站 = ground + iron + station (underground iron-road stop)
地 (ground/earth) + 铁 (iron) = 地铁 the subway, literally underground iron. 站 means station or stop. So 地铁站 is the subway station — the stop on the underground iron road.
地 — earth 土 + 也 (phonetic)
地 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left component 土 means 'earth' or 'soil' and gives the meaning, while 也 on the right hints at the pronunciation. Originally referring to the ground or land, it broadened to mean 'place,' 'region,' and 'territory.'
铁 — metal radical 钅 + 失 (shī) phonetic
铁 is the simplified form of 鐵, meaning 'iron'. It is a semantic-phonetic compound: the metal radical 钅 (金) signals the meaning (a metal), while 失 hints at the sound. The traditional 鐵 used a more complex phonetic element, but the modern simplified form keeps the same structure with a simpler right side.
站 — 立 (stand) + 占 (zhàn, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 立 'to stand' gives the meaning, while 占 supplies the sound zhàn. Originally meaning 'to stand upright,' it later extended to 'a place where one stops or stands,' giving modern senses like station or stop.