戈壁 gēbì Gobi (desert)
How to remember 戈壁: 戈 dagger + 壁 partition = Gobi (desert).
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How it is used
- The Gobi Desert / a gravel-desert (from Mongolian) - 戈壁滩 (gēbì tān) the Gobi flats.
- A specific proper/geographic term for the stony steppe-desert of north China and Mongolia, not a generic desert (that's 沙漠, shāmò, sandy desert).
- Used in geography, travel, and poetry about the vast northwest.