密苏里 (Mì sū lǐ) — Missouri (US state)

Definition

noun
Missouri (US state)

Examples

  • 。
    Měi guó de Mì sū lǐ zhōu yǐ mì xī xī bǐ hé wén míng.
    The US state of Missouri is famous for the Mississippi River.
  • 密苏里。
    Tā céng zài Mì sū lǐ dà xué dú shū.
    She used to study at the University of Missouri.
  • 密苏里。
    Mì sū lǐ Shì měi guó zhōng xī bù de yí gè zhòng yào zhōu.
    Missouri is an important state in the Midwestern United States.

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.

密mì
苏sū
里lǐ

The characters 密, 苏, and 里 carry no meaning of their own here; together they spell the English name Missouri.

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
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
宓
宓mì密mì
Same sound today

密 pairs 山 (mountain) with 宓 (mì), which gives the pronunciation, to picture something hidden in the mountains, hence secret.

Open 密 →

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 蘇; 苏 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 苏 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 蘇; in others it is 甦 or 囌.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
穌
穌sū蘇Sū
Same sound today

The traditional form 蘇 uses 艸 (grass; plant) for meaning and 穌 for sound; the simplified 苏 is a later shorthand.

Open 苏 →

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.