安利 (An lì) — Amway (brand) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

安利 (Ānlì) is the Chinese name for the U.S. multi-level-marketing brand Amway, used for the company and its products (supplements, household goods).

noun

Amway (brand)

Examples

安利。
An lì Shì yì jiā zhī míng de zhí xiāo gōng sī.
Amway is a well-known direct-selling company.
安利。
Tā jīng cháng gòu mǎi An lì de yíng yǎng pǐn.
He often buys Amway nutritional products.
安利。
An lì De chǎn pǐn zhǒng lèi hěn duō.
Amway has many product categories.

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.

Here 安 and 利 only spell Amway; the characters carry no meaning of their own.

Sound-only characters

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

宀女安

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀mián

Sound part声符shēngfú

女

女nǚ安ān

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

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

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

禾禾hégrain
刀刀dāoknife

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

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