德黑兰 (Dé hēi lán) — Tehran

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

德 combines 彳, a road, with 惪, a component meaning virtue that also supplies the sound.

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

The shape of 黑 seems to come from drawing a head marked with dots, usually read as facial tattoos.

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 蘭; 兰 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 蘭, 艹 marks it as a plant and 闌 stands for the sound; the simplified 兰 is a later shorthand, not the original parts.