曼德尔 (màn dé ěr) — (proper noun) Mandel (or similar foreign name, transliteration)

Definition

Transliteration of a Western surname, usually 'Mandel' (as in economist Thomas Sargent's teacher or similar names). The bearer is referred to with 先生, 女士, or a title — it is a name only, never used alone for a common object.

noun
(proper noun) Mandel (or similar foreign name, transliteration)

Examples

  • 曼德尔。
    màn dé ěr Xiān sheng shì yí wèi zhù míng de jīng jì xué jiā.
    Mr. Mandel is a famous economist.
  • 曼德尔。
    Wǒ zuì jìn zài kàn yì běn màn dé ěr xiě de xiǎo shuō.
    I've been reading a novel written by Mandel recently.
  • 曼德尔。
    Zhè ge xiǎo zhèn yuán míng jiào màn dé ěr.
    This small town was originally called Mandel.

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.

曼màn
德dé
尔ěr

曼德尔 spells the foreign name Mandel; the characters carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 曼 →

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 →

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

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爾; 尔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爾, simplified as 尔, originally drew cloth on a loom with crossing threads. It was borrowed for its sound to write “you,” so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 尔 →

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