新墨西哥州 (Xīn Mò xī gē zhōu) — New Mexico (US state)

Definition

noun

New Mexico (US state)

Examples

新墨西哥州。
Wǒ qù nián qù le Xīn Mò xī gē zhōu lǚ yóu.
I went to New Mexico for tourism last year.
新墨西哥州。
Xīn Mò xī gē zhōu De fēng jǐng fēi cháng měi lì.
The scenery of New Mexico is very beautiful.
新墨西哥州。
Tā zài Xīn Mò xī gē zhōu zhù le shí nián.
He lived in New Mexico for ten years.

Origin

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.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

斤斤jīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

辛

辛xīn新xīn

Same sound today

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

Open 新 →

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

黑土墨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔsoil

Sound part声符shēngfú

黑

黑hēi墨mò

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

墨 is built from 土 (soil) and 黑, with 黑 giving the sound.

Open 墨 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.