孟买 (Mèng mǎi) — Mumbai (formerly Bombay, capital of Maharashtra…

Definition

noun

Mumbai (formerly Bombay, capital of Maharashtra, India)

孟买。
Wǒ míng nián xiǎng qù Mèng mǎi lǚ yóu.
I want to travel to Mumbai next year.
孟买。
Mèng mǎi Shì yìn dù de yí gè dà chéng shì.
Mumbai is a big city in India.
孟买。
Diàn yǐng lǐ yǒu hěn duō Mèng mǎi de fēng jǐng.
The movie has many scenes of Mumbai.

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.

子皿孟

Meaning part形符xíngfú

子子zǐchild; son

Sound part声符shēngfú

皿

皿mǐn孟mèng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

孟 uses 子 (child; son) for the idea of a child or son, and 皿 gives the sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 買; 买 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 買, 网 is a net and 貝 is a money cowrie.

Appears in