欧元 (Oū yuán) — Euro (currency) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Euro (currency)

欧元。
Oū yuán Shì ōu zhōu de tōng yòng huò bì.
The euro is the common currency of Europe.
欧元。
Wǒ huàn le wǔ bǎi Oū yuán.
I exchanged five hundred euros.
欧元。
Qù ōu zhōu lǚ xíng zuì hǎo dài Oū yuán.
It's best to bring euros when traveling to Europe.

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.

元yuáncurrency unit

欧 points to Europe, and 元 names a currency unit, together naming the Euro.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歐; 欧 is its simplified writing.

區欠歐

Meaning part形符xíngfú

欠欠qiànto yawn; to exhale

Sound part声符shēngfú

區

區qū歐Ōu

Same sound today

The traditional form 歐 pairs 區 as a sound with 欠 (to yawn; to exhale), and was originally written for vomiting; simplified 欧 is a later shorthand.

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

The shape 元 shows a figure with two lines for a head, one connected to the body and one above it, emphasizing the head.

Appears in