格陵兰岛 (Gé líng lán dǎo) — Greenland

Definition

noun
Greenland
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 格陵兰岛。
    Gé líng lán dǎo Shì dān mài de yí gè zì zhì lǐng tǔ.
    Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
  • 格陵兰岛。
    Gé líng lán dǎo Dà bù fen dì qū bèi bīng xuě fù gài.
    Most of Greenland is covered by ice and snow.
  • 格陵兰岛。
    Wǒ xiǎng qù Gé líng lán dǎo kàn jí guāng.
    I want to go to Greenland to see the aurora.

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.

格陵兰Greenland
格gé陵líng兰lán
音译Transliteration
岛dǎoisland

格陵兰 spells Greenland, and 岛 means island, so the whole is the island of Greenland.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè格gé
Same sound today

格 is built from 木 (wood) on the left and 各 on the right, which gives the sound.

Open 格 →

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

  • 阜阜fùmound
  • 夌夌língmound; hill

The shape pairs 阜 (mound) with 夌, an earlier form meaning “mound; hill” that gives the sound.

Open 陵 →

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 蘭; 兰 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant
Sound part声符shēngfú
闌
闌lán蘭lán
Same sound today

In the traditional form 蘭, 艹 marks it as a plant and 闌 stands for the sound; the simplified 兰 is a later shorthand, not the original parts.

Open 兰 →

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 島; 岛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
鳥
鳥niǎo島dǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 島 uses 山, meaning mountain, and 鳥 for the sound. The simplified 岛 is a later shorthand.

Open 岛 →

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