What's the difference between 河岸 vs 河畔? Don't they both mean river bank?
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bkrs: 岸 bank(水边的陆地) bank; shore; coast: 海岸 coast; seashore 江岸 the bank of a river; a river bank 上岸 go ashore 海浪拍岸。 The sea washes the shore. 形 (书) (态度严峻或高傲) lofty: 傲岸 haughty 1) 水边高起之地。 2) 高傲,严正。 3) 谓将冠帽上推,露出前额。 4) 通“犴”。古代乡亭的拘留所。详“岸狱”。 5) 见“魁岸”。 shore beach coast 畔 edge side boundary bank (of a river etc) shore 名 (江、湖、道路等旁边; 附近) side; bank: 河畔 river bank; riverside 湖畔 the shore of a lake (田地的边界) boundary; border: 田畔 the border of a field1) 田界。 2) 界限;疆界。 3) 旁边;边侧。 4) 指边隅,角落。 5) 回避;躲避。 6) 混乱貌。 7) 通“叛”。违背;背离。 8) 通“叛”。背叛;叛变。 9) 见“畔援”。 10) 见“畔喭”。1– user6065Nov 16, 2017 at 7:26
2 Answers
河岸 = river bank.
畔 means "beside something / near something", not just rivers, e.g. 耳畔、桥畔.
You can take 河畔 as a literary version of 河边.
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Agree on "河畔 as a literary version of 河边". 河畔 is rarely used in spoken. There isn't much difference in meaning between 河岸 and 河畔.– danNov 16, 2017 at 8:37
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畔 is commonly used in written language like in literature or lyrics, really rarely used in spoken. Just like that in written language we use 11月17日, but 11月17号 in spoken.– xenophōnNov 17, 2017 at 4:43
I would add to Jason's answer that 畔 is more used in literature and is very rarely used in daily spoken language (unless maybe to invoke sort of a poetic feeling). Otherwise literally both mean the same thing to me.