冲绳岛 (Chōng shéng dǎo) — Okinawa Island

Definition

noun
Okinawa Island
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 冲绳岛。
    Jīn nián shǔ jià wǒ dǎ suàn qù Chōng shéng dǎo lǚ xíng.
    I plan to travel to Okinawa Island this summer vacation.
  • 冲绳岛，。
    Chōng shéng dǎo De qì hòu fēi cháng wēn nuǎn, shì hé dù jià.
    The climate of Okinawa Island is very warm, suitable for a vacation.
  • 。
    Tā duì Chōng shéng dǎo de lì shǐ hěn gǎn xìng qù.
    He is very interested in the history of Okinawa Island.

Origin

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.

冲绳Okinawa
冲chōng绳shéng
音译Transliteration
岛dǎoisland

冲绳岛 names Okinawa Island, with 冲绳 as the place name and 岛 as island.

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 衝; 冲 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 冲 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (冲, 冲动) it is 衝; in others (冲) it is 沖.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng衝chōng
Same sound today

The traditional form 衝 shows 重 inside 行, with 行 as the meaning part and 重 as the sound part; the simplified 冲 is a later shorthand.

Open 冲 →

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 繩; 绳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
黽
黽mǐn繩shéng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 繩 is built from 糸, the rope/string part, and 黽, the sound part.

Open 绳 →

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 島; 岛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
鳥
鳥niǎo島dǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 島 uses 山, meaning mountain, and 鳥 for the sound. The simplified 岛 is a later shorthand.

Open 岛 →

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