万象 (Wàn xiàng) — Vientiane (capital of Laos)

Definition

Literally 'ten thousand phenomena', 万象 is also the Chinese name for Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

noun
Vientiane (capital of Laos)

Examples

  • 万象。
    Wàn xiàng Shì lǎo wō de shǒu dū.
    Vientiane is the capital of Laos.
  • 万象。
    Wǒ qù nián xià tiān qù le Wàn xiàng lǚ yóu.
    I went to Vientiane for travel last summer.
  • 万象？
    Nǐ tīng shuō guò Wàn xiàng zhè ge chéng shì ma?
    Have you heard of the city Vientiane?

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

象 is drawn as an elephant, with a long trunk, a head, and a big body.

Open 象 →

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