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安特卫普 (An tè wèi pǔ) — Antwerp (city in Belgium)

Definition

noun
Antwerp (city in Belgium)

Examples

  • 安特卫普。
    An tè wèi pǔ Shì bǐ lì shí zhòng yào de gǎng kǒu chéng shì.
    Antwerp is an important port city in Belgium.
  • 安特卫普。
    Wǒ jì huà míng nián qù An tè wèi pǔ lǚ xíng.
    I plan to travel to Antwerp next year.
  • 安特卫普。
    An tè wèi pǔ De zuàn shí mào yì fēi cháng yǒu míng.
    Antwerp's diamond trade is very famous.

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.

安ān
特tè
卫wèi
普pǔ

“安特卫普” spells Antwerp; the characters 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
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.

Open 安 →

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
牛牛niúox
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì特tè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape combines 牛 (ox) with 寺, which gives the pronunciation; it originally meant a large bull.

Open 特 →

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 衛; 卫 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
韋
韋wéi衛wèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 衛 is built from 行 as the sense part and 韋 as the sound part; the simplified 卫 is a shorthand.

Open 卫 →

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

  • 並並bìngside by side
  • 日日rìsun

普 is made of 日 (sun) and 並 (side by side).

Open 普 →
Appears in
City & Urban

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