布里斯班 (Bù lǐ sī bān) — Brisbane (capital of Queensland, Australia)

Definition

noun
Brisbane (capital of Queensland, Australia)

Examples

  • 布里斯班。
    Wǒ míng nián xiǎng qù Bù lǐ sī bān lǚ yóu.
    I want to travel to Brisbane next year.
  • 布里斯班。
    Bù lǐ sī bān Shì ào dà lì yà de dì sān dà chéng shì.
    Brisbane is the third-largest city in Australia.
  • 布里斯班。
    Tā zài Bù lǐ sī bān dà xué xué xí.
    He studies at the University of Brisbane.

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.

The characters 布里斯班 spell Brisbane and carry no separate meanings 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
巾巾jīnkerchief
Sound part声符shēngfú
父
父fù布bù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

布 pairs 巾, a kerchief, with 父 as a sound part.

Open 布 →

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 斯 →

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

  • 珏珏juépieces of jade
  • 刀刀dāoknife

班 shows 珏, pieces of jade, and 刀, a knife, cutting them into pieces.

Open 班 →

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