塞纳河 (Sāi nà hé) — Seine River (the major river flowing through Pa…

Definition

noun

Seine River (the major river flowing through Paris, France)

塞纳河。
Bā lí de Sāi nà hé yán àn yǒu hěn duō zhù míng de jǐng diǎn.
There are many famous sights along the banks of the Seine in Paris.
塞纳河。
Wǒ céng zài Sāi nà hé shàng chéng chuán yóu lǎn.
I once took a boat tour on the Seine.
塞纳河。
Sāi nà hé Shì fǎ guó zuì zhòng yào de hé liú zhī yī.
The Seine is one of the most important rivers in France.

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.

塞纳Seine

塞纳 names the Seine, while 河 marks it as a river.

Characters in this word

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

塞 combines 宀 (house), 工 (two items), and 廾 (two hands), showing hands stuffing items into a house.

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 納; 纳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk, thin thread

Sound part声符shēngfú

内

Same sound today

The traditional form 納 has 糸 (silk, thin thread) and 内, which gives the sound; the simplified 纳 is a shorthand.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

何

Same sound today

河 pairs 水 (water) with 何, which gives the sound. The 水 part marks it as a word for a river.