北海道 (Běi hǎi dào) — Hokkaido (northernmost island of Japan)

Definition

noun

Hokkaido (northernmost island of Japan)

北海道。
Qù nián dōng tiān wǒ qù le Běi hǎi dào huá xuě.
I went skiing in Hokkaido last winter.
北海道。
Běi hǎi dào De niú nǎi hé nǎi lào fēi cháng yǒu míng.
Hokkaido's milk and cheese are very famous.
北海道。
Tā jì huà cóng dōng jīng zuò fēi jī dào Běi hǎi dào lǚ yóu.
He plans to fly from Tokyo to Hokkaido for a trip.

Characters in this word

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

The form 北 shows two people standing back to back. It originally meant 'back'.

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

氵每海

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

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

行行xíngstreet

Sound part声符shēngfú

𩠐

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Appears in