新德里 (xīn dé lǐ) — New Delhi | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

New Delhi

Examples

新德里。
xīn dé lǐ Shì yìn dù de shǒu dū.
New Delhi is the capital of India.
新德里。
Wǒ míng nián xiǎng qù xīn dé lǐ lǚ yóu.
I want to travel to New Delhi next year.
新德里。
xīn dé lǐ De rén kǒu chāo guò liǎng qiān wàn.
New Delhi's population exceeds twenty million.

Origin

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.

新xīnnew

德里

德dé里lǐ

新 means new, while 德里 spells the sound of Delhi, so the name means New Delhi.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

彳彳chìroad

Sound part声符shēngfú

惪

惪dé德dé

Same sound today

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

Open 德 →

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.