亚特兰大 (Yà tè lán dà) — Atlanta (the city in the US)

Definition

noun

Atlanta (the city in the US)

亚特兰大。
Wǒ qù nián qù guò Yà tè lán dà.
I visited Atlanta last year.
亚特兰大。
Yà tè lán dà Shì měi guó nán bù zuì dà de chéng shì.
Atlanta is the largest city in the southern United States.
亚特兰大？
Nǐ tīng shuō guò Yà tè lán dà ma?
Have you heard of Atlanta?

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 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.

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

牛寺特

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

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

The shape combines 牛 (ox) with 寺, which gives the pronunciation; it originally meant a large bull.

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 蘭; 兰 is its simplified writing.

艹闌蘭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant

Sound part声符shēngfú

闌

闌lán蘭lán

Same sound today

In the traditional form 蘭, 艹 marks it as a plant and 闌 stands for the sound; the simplified 兰 is a later shorthand, not the original parts.

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Appears in