下关 (Xià guān) — Shimonoseki (city in Japan)

Definition

noun

Shimonoseki (city in Japan)

下关。
Wǒ qù nián xià tiān qù le Xià guān lǚ yóu.
I traveled to Shimonoseki last summer.
下关。
Xià guān Yǐ xīn xiān de hǎi xiān wén míng.
Shimonoseki is famous for its fresh seafood.
下关。
Cóng dōng jīng zuò xīn gàn xiàn dào Xià guān dà yuē xū yào sì gè xiǎo shí.
It takes about four hours from Tokyo to Shimonoseki by Shinkansen.

Characters in this word

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

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 關; 关 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

門門méndoor

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢇅

𢇅𢇅關guān

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

For 关, the traditional form 關 shows 門 as a door and 𢇅 as two wooden sticks locking it, with ring-like marks on top.