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危地马拉 (Wēi dì mǎ lā) — Guatemala (country)

Definition

noun
Guatemala (country)

Examples

  • 危地马拉。
    Wēi dì mǎ lā Yǐ huǒ shān hé hú pō zhù chēng.
    Guatemala is known for its volcanoes and lakes.
  • 危地马拉。
    Wǒ jì huà míng nián qù Wēi dì mǎ lā lǚ yóu.
    I plan to travel to Guatemala next year.
  • 危地马拉。
    Wēi dì mǎ lā De guān fāng yǔ yán shì xī bān yá yǔ.
    Guatemala's official language is Spanish.

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.

危wēi
地dì
马mǎ
拉lā

The 危地马拉 characters carry no meaning of their own here; together they spell the foreign name Guatemala.

Sound-only characters

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

  • 厃厃wěiperson on a cliff or mountain
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

危 is built from 厃, showing a person on a cliff or mountain, and 卩, showing a kneeling person.

Open 危 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →

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 →
Appears in
International & Diplomacy

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