南安 (Nán ān) — Nan'an (county-level city in Fujian Province, China)

Definition

Nan'an is a county-level city in southern Fujian Province, famous as the ancestral homeland of many overseas Chinese, especially in Southeast Asia. Pronounced with neutral tones on both syllables when read as a place name.

noun
Nan'an (county-level city in Fujian Province, China)

Examples

  • 南安。
    Nán ān Shì fú jiàn shěng de yí gè chéng shì.
    Nan'an is a city in Fujian Province.
  • 南安。
    Wǒ péng you zhù zài Nán ān.
    My friend lives in Nan'an.
  • 南安。
    Nán ān Yǒu hěn duō gōng chǎng.
    Nan'an has many factories.

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.

南nánsouth
安ānpeace

南安 joins 南 for south with 安 for peace, naming a southern place of peace.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 南 →

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →

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