孟加拉国 (Mèng jiā lā guó) — Bangladesh

Definition

noun

Bangladesh

Examples

孟加拉国。
Wǒ qù nián qù Mèng jiā lā guó lǚ xíng le.
I traveled to Bangladesh last year.
孟加拉国。
Mèng jiā lā guó Shì nán yà de yí gè guó jiā.
Bangladesh is a country in South Asia.
孟加拉国。
Mèng jiā lā guó De shǒu dū shì dá kǎ.
The capital of Bangladesh is Dhaka.

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.

孟加拉Bengal

孟mèng加jiā拉lā

国guócountry

孟加拉 spells the foreign name, and 国 means country, together naming Bangladesh.

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.

Open 孟 →

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

力口加

力力lìstrength
口口kǒumouth

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 →

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 →

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 國; 国 is its simplified writing.