拉丁 (lā dīng) — Latin (language, script, or culture) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Latin (language, script, or culture)

Examples

。
Tā zài dà xué xuǎn xiū le lā dīng yǔ.
He took Latin as an elective in college.
拉丁。
lā dīng Zì mǔ shì shì jiè shàng zuì guǎng fàn shǐ yòng de wén zì zhī yī.
The Latin script is one of the most widely used writing systems in the world.
拉丁，。
Wǒ hěn xǐ huan lā dīng yīn yuè, yóu qí shì shā shā wǔ qǔ.
I really like Latin music, especially salsa dance tunes.

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 拉 and 丁 carry no separate meaning here; the word spells Latin.

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

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

立

立lì拉lā

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.

Appears in

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