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委内瑞拉 (Wěi nèi ruì lā) — Venezuela

Definition

noun
Venezuela

Examples

  • 委内瑞拉。
    Wǒ céng jīng qù guò Wěi nèi ruì lā.
    I have been to Venezuela.
  • 委内瑞拉。
    Wěi nèi ruì lā De shǒu dū shì jiā lā jiā sī.
    The capital of Venezuela is Caracas.
  • 委内瑞拉。
    Wǒ de péng you lái zì Wěi nèi ruì lā.
    My friend is from Venezuela.

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.

委wěi
内nèi
瑞ruì
拉lā

The characters 委内瑞拉 spell the foreign name and carry no meaning of their own here.

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
禾
禾hé委wěi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

委 has 女 under 禾. 女, a woman, is the meaning part, and 禾 gives the sound.

Open 委 →

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

  • 入入rùto enter
  • 冂冂jiōnghouse

The shape shows 入 entering into 冂, a house, so it pictures bringing something indoors, giving the sense inside.

Open 内 →

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
耑
耑zhuān瑞ruì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

瑞 pairs 玉, meaning jade, with 耑, which gives its sound.

Open 瑞 →

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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