列岛 (liè dǎo) — archipelago

Definition

A noun meaning a chain or group of islands (an archipelago). A more formal/scientific term than the everyday 岛, usually used as a set rather than a single landmass.

noun
archipelago
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 列岛。
    Rì běn liè dǎo yóu shù qiān gè dǎo yǔ zǔ chéng.
    The Japanese archipelago is made up of thousands of islands.
  • 列岛。
    Zhè ge liè dǎo de fēng jǐng fēi cháng měi lì.
    The scenery of this archipelago is very beautiful.
  • 列岛。
    Kē xué jiā zài zhè ge liè dǎo fā xiàn le xīn de wù zhǒng.
    Scientists discovered a new species in this archipelago.

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.

列lièseries
岛dǎoisland

列 means a series, and 岛 is an island, so 列岛 is a chain of islands.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

列 combines 歹, drawn as skeletal remains, and 刀, a knife, to depict tearing apart.

Open 列 →

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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