human habitation; signs of human presence
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
human habitation; signs of human presence (literally cooking smoke from households)
literaryLiterally refers to cooking smoke rising from households, used as a metonym for human settlements or populated areas. Commonly appears in set phrases describing population density.
Zhè这
yí一
dài带
rén人
yān烟
xī稀
shǎo少
，
shí十
fēn分
huāng荒
liáng凉
。
This area is sparsely populated and quite desolate.
Yán沿
hǎi海
dì地
qū区
rén人
yān烟
chóu稠
mì密
，
jīng经
jì济
fā发
dá达
。
The coastal regions are densely populated and economically developed.
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Huāng荒
wú无
rén人
yān烟
de的
shā沙
mò漠
lǐ里
hěn很
nán难
zhǎo找
dào到
shuǐ水
yuán源
。
It is very difficult to find water sources in the desolate and uninhabited desert.