宾夕法尼亚州 (Bīn xī fǎ ní yà zhōu) — Pennsylvania

Definition

noun
Pennsylvania

Examples

  • 宾夕法尼亚州，。
    Bīn xī fǎ ní yà zhōu Zài měi guó dōng bù, shì yí gè hěn dà de zhōu.
    Pennsylvania is in the eastern United States, a very large state.
  • 宾夕法尼亚州，。
    Wǒ de yí wèi péng you lái zì Bīn xī fǎ ní yà zhōu, tā shuō nà lǐ qiū tiān hěn piào liang.
    A friend of mine comes from Pennsylvania, and he says the autumn there is very beautiful.
  • 宾夕法尼亚州，。
    Bīn xī fǎ ní yà zhōu De lì shǐ fēi cháng yōu jiǔ, duì měi guó dú lì hěn zhòng yào.
    Pennsylvania has a very long history and was important for American independence.

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.

宾夕法尼亚Pennsylvania
宾bīn夕xī法fǎ尼ní亚yà
州zhōustate

宾夕法尼亚 spells Pennsylvania; 州 “state” marks the place.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賓; 宾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡧍
𡧍𡧍賓bīn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 賓 is built from 𡧍 and 貝: 𡧍 gives the sound, and 貝 relates to the meaning. The simplified 宾 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 宾 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

夕 was drawn as a crescent moon.

Open 夕 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →

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

The shape draws one person sitting on or leaning against another person, giving the sense of stopping close to someone.

Open 尼 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 亞; 亚 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 亞 likely shows an overhead view of a construction, perhaps a 亞-shaped tomb. Its later simplified form 亚 is just a shorthand.

Open 亚 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

州 originally drew an islet in a river.

Open 州 →

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