摩加迪沙 (Mó jiā dí shā) — Mogadishu (capital of Somalia)

Definition

noun
Mogadishu (capital of Somalia)

Examples

  • 摩加迪沙。
    Mó jiā dí shā Shì suǒ mǎ lǐ de shǒu dū hé zuì dà chéng shì.
    Mogadishu is the capital and largest city of Somalia.
  • 摩加迪沙,。
    Mó jiā dí shā Wèi yú yìn dù yáng yán àn, shì yí gè zhòng yào de gǎng kǒu chéng shì.
    Mogadishu is located on the coast of the Indian Ocean and is an important port city.
  • ,摩加迪沙。
    Jìn nián lái, Mó jiā dí shā de jīng jì hé jī chǔ shè shī zài zhú bù huī fù.
    In recent years, Mogadishu's economy and infrastructure have been gradually recovering.

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.

摩加迪沙 only spells the foreign name Mogadishu, and its characters carry no separate meaning 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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má摩mó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

摩 combines 手 (hand) with 麻; the hand part relates to the meaning, and 麻 gives the sound.

Open 摩 →

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

加 pairs 力 and 口. In one explanation 力 is strength and 口 is the mouth, meaning exaggeration; in another 力 is plowing effort and 口 is breath or exclamation, meaning extra effort.

Open 加 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 迪 →

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

沙 puts 少 (dots) beside 水 (water), showing sand on a shoreline.

Open 沙 →

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