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希特勒 (Xī tè lè) — Hitler

Definition

noun
Hitler

Examples

  • 希特勒。
    Xī tè lè Shì dì èr cì shì jiè dà zhàn de fā dòng zhě zhī yī.
    Hitler was one of the instigators of World War II.
  • 希特勒。
    Xī tè lè De qīn lüè xíng wéi gěi shì jiè dài lái le jù dà zāi nàn.
    Hitler's aggressive actions brought great disaster to the world.
  • 希特勒。
    Lì shǐ shàng duì Xī tè lè de píng jià fēi cháng fù miàn.
    Historical evaluations of Hitler are very negative.

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.

希xī
特tè
勒lè

“希特勒” spells the foreign name Hitler, and the characters carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

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

希 is made from 爻 and 巾, which means cloth. How those parts connect to “hope” is not explained.

Open 希 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
革革gé
Sound part声符shēngfú
力
力lì勒lè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

勒 pairs 革 (leather), because bridles are made of leather, with 力, which gives the sound.

Open 勒 →
Appears in
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