兰州 (lán zhōu) — Lanzhou (capital of Gansu Province)

Definition

noun

Lanzhou (capital of Gansu Province)

兰州。
Wǒ qù nián xià tiān qù lán zhōu lǚ yóu le.
I traveled to Lanzhou last summer.
兰州。
lán zhōu De niú ròu miàn fēi cháng yǒu míng.
Lanzhou's beef noodles are very famous.
兰州，。
Tā chū shēng zài lán zhōu, dàn zài běi jīng zhǎng dà.
He was born in Lanzhou but grew up in Beijing.

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.

州zhōuprefecture

兰 names the place, and 州 means prefecture.

Characters in this word

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.

州 originally drew an islet in a river.

Appears in