拉丁文 (lā dīng wén) — Latin (language)

Definition

noun

Latin (language)

拉丁文。
Tā zài dà xué lǐ xué le sān nián lā dīng wén.
He studied Latin at university for three years.
拉丁文。
Zhè běn shū shì yòng lā dīng wén xiě de.
This book is written in Latin.
拉丁文。
lā dīng wén Duì yán jiū ōu zhōu lì shǐ fēi cháng zhòng yào.
Latin is very important for researching European history.

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.

拉丁Latin

文wénlanguage

拉丁 represents Latin and 文 means language, so the parts name the Latin language.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

立

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拉 pairs 手 (hand) with 立, a component that supplies the sound.

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

丁 may picture a nail head, a person's head, a square city wall, or a square star pattern.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The current form 文 shows a man with head, arms, legs, and chest; the tattoo marks on the chest are no longer drawn.

Appears in