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利比亚人 (lì bǐ yà rén) — Libyan (person)

Definition

noun
Libyan (person)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 利比亚人。
    Wǒ rèn shi yí gè lì bǐ yà rén.
    I know a Libyan person.
  • 利比亚人。
    Zhè xiē lì bǐ yà rén lái zì dí lí bō lǐ.
    These Libyans come from Tripoli.
  • 利比亚人。
    lì bǐ yà rén De wén huà hé yǐn shí hěn yǒu tè sè.
    Libyan culture and cuisine are very distinctive.

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.

利比亚Libya
利lì比bǐ亚yà
音译Transliteration
人rénperson

利比亚 sounds out Libya and 人 means person, so it names a person from Libya.

Characters in this word

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →

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

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 匕匕bǐ

比 is two 匕 placed side by side. Chu Wan-li treats both as sound parts, while an old reading takes the side-by-side arrangement as putting things next to each other.

Open 比 →

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.

Open 亚 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
Ethnic Groups & NationalitiesPeople (General)

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