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基加利 (Jī jiā lì) — Kigali (capital of Rwanda)

Definition

noun
Kigali (capital of Rwanda)

Examples

  • 基加利。
    Wǒ qù nián qù guò Jī jiā lì.
    I went to Kigali last year.
  • 基加利。
    Jī jiā lì Shì lú wàng dá de shǒu dū.
    Kigali is the capital of Rwanda.
  • 基加利。
    Tā zài Jī jiā lì xué xí zhōng wén.
    He studies Chinese in Kigali.

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.

基jī
加jiā
利lì

基加利 spells the foreign name Kigali; the characters carry no independent meaning in this word.

Sound-only characters

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
其
其qí基jī
Same sound today

The lower 土 means earth, and the upper 其 gives the sound; together they form the idea of a foundation of earth.

Open 基 →

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 →

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →
Appears in
City & Urban

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