东南亚 (dōng nán yà) — Southeast Asia

Definition

noun

Southeast Asia

东南亚。
Wǒ míng nián xiǎng qù dōng nán yà lǚ xíng.
I want to travel to Southeast Asia next year.
东南亚。
dōng nán yà De qì hòu hěn shī rè.
The climate in Southeast Asia is very hot and humid.
东南亚。
dōng nán yà Yǒu hěn duō měi lì de dǎo yǔ.
Southeast Asia has many beautiful islands.

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.

东南southeast

联合Side by side

'东南' points southeast, '亚' points Asia; together they name the southeastern part of Asia.

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 東; 东 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 東 originally drew a full bag tied at both ends. The simplified 东 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 亞; 亚 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 亞 likely shows an overhead view of a construction, perhaps a 亞-shaped tomb. Its later simplified form 亚 is just a shorthand.