加拉帕戈斯群岛 (Jiā lā pà gē sī qún dǎo) — Galapagos Islands

Definition

noun
Galapagos Islands

Examples

  • 加拉帕戈斯群岛。
    Wǒ jì huà míng nián qù Jiā lā pà gē sī qún dǎo lǚ yóu.
    I plan to travel to the Galapagos Islands next year.
  • 加拉帕戈斯群岛。
    Jiā lā pà gē sī qún dǎo Yǐ dú tè de shēng wù zhǒng lèi wén míng yú shì.
    The Galapagos Islands are famous worldwide for their unique species.
  • 加拉帕戈斯群岛。
    Dá ěr wén céng zài Jiā lā pà gē sī qún dǎo yán jiū jìn huà lùn.
    Darwin once studied evolution on the Galapagos Islands.

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.

加拉帕戈斯
加jiā拉lā帕pà戈gē斯sī
群岛
群qúngroup岛dǎoisland
偏正Modifier + head

加拉帕戈斯 is a foreign name, while 群 and 岛 mean group and island; together they name the Galapagos Islands.

Characters in this word

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

加 pairs 力 and 口. In one explanation 力 is strength and 口 is the mouth, meaning exaggeration; in another 力 is plowing effort and 口 is breath or exclamation, meaning extra effort.

Open 加 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
立
立lì拉lā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拉 pairs 手 (hand) with 立, a component that supplies the sound.

Open 拉 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 帕 →

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

戈 is drawn as an ancient dagger-ax with one blade; its long diagonal stroke comes from the weapon's vertical handle.

Open 戈 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 斯 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
君
君jūn群
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

群 pairs 羊, a sheep, to point to a herd or group, with 君 giving the sound.

Open 群 →

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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