辽阔 liáokuò vast
vast; extensive
How to remember 辽阔: 辽 distant + 阔 ample = vast.
Characters
How it is used
- Vast and wide - of open expanses of land, sea, or sky - 辽阔的草原 (liáokuò de cǎoyuán) the boundless grasslands.
- Literary and grand; pairs with 土地/疆域/天空/海洋 to evoke sweeping openness.
- 辽阔 stresses horizontal breadth of open space; 广阔 (guǎngkuò) is similar but 辽阔 feels even more expansive and poetic. Contrast 宽阔 (a wide road/river).