加来 (jiā lái) — Calais (city in northern France)

Definition

noun
Calais (city in northern France)

Examples

  • 加来。
    Wǒ men zuò chuán cóng duō fó dào jiā lái.
    We took a boat from Dover to Calais.
  • 加来。
    jiā lái Shì fǎ guó běi bù de yí gè zhòng yào gǎng kǒu chéng shì.
    Calais is an important port city in northern France.
  • 加来。
    Jīn nián shǔ jià wǒ jì huà qù jiā lái lǚ xíng.
    This summer vacation I plan to travel to Calais.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

加jiā
来lái

加来 spells Calais; the characters carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →

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