厄尔巴岛 (è ěr bā dǎo) — Elba Island

Definition

noun
Elba Island

Examples

  • 厄尔巴岛。
    Ná pò lún céng bèi liú fàng dào è ěr bā dǎo.
    Napoleon was once exiled to Elba Island.
  • 厄尔巴岛。
    è ěr bā dǎo Shì dì zhōng hǎi shàng de yí gè xiǎo dǎo.
    Elba Island is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea.
  • 厄尔巴岛。
    Xǔ duō yóu kè qù è ěr bā dǎo cān guān ná pò lún de gù jū.
    Many tourists visit Elba Island to see Napoleon's former residence.

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.

厄尔巴Elba
厄è尔ěr巴bā
音译Transliteration
岛dǎoisland

厄尔巴 spells Elba, and 岛 marks the place as an island.

Characters in this word

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
卪卪jiéjoint; node
Sound part声符shēngfú
厂
厂chǎng厄è
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape 厄 may come from a drawing of a kneeling figure 卪 with a small stroke 厂 marking the knee.

Open 厄 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爾; 尔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爾, simplified as 尔, originally drew cloth on a loom with crossing threads. It was borrowed for its sound to write “you,” so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 尔 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 巴 →

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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