上海 (Shàng hǎi) — Shanghai | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Shanghai

Examples

。
Wǒ qù nián qù guò Shàng hǎi.
I went to Shanghai last year.
上海。
Shàng hǎi Shì yí gè hěn dà de chéng shì.
Shanghai is a very big city.
上海。
Shàng hǎi De péng you qǐng wǒ chī le xiǎo lóng bāo.
My friend in Shanghai treated me to xiaolongbao.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

上 means upper and 海 means sea; 上海 names a city on the sea.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵每海

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

每měi海hǎi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Appears in

China — Places

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