乌拉圭 (Wū lā guī) — Uruguay | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Uruguay

乌拉圭。
Wǒ qù guò liǎng cì Wū lā guī.
I've been to Uruguay twice.
乌拉圭。
Wū lā guī De zú qiú duì hěn yǒu míng.
Uruguay's football team is very famous.
乌拉圭。
Wǒ xiǎng qù Wū lā guī lǚ yóu.
I want to travel to Uruguay.

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 烏; 乌 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 烏 is a drawing of a bird. The simplified 乌 is a later abbreviation.

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

立

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

拉 pairs 手 (hand) with 立, a component that supplies the sound.

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

圭 stacks two 士 parts, drawn as two ritual axes, perhaps made of jade, one above the other.