殖民地 (zhí mín dì) — colony | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

colony

Measure word · 个

Examples

殖民地。
Zhè ge guó jiā céng jīng shì yīng guó de zhí mín dì.
This country was once a British colony.
殖民地。
zhí mín dì De rén mín jīng guò cháng qī dòu zhēng zhōng yú huò dé le dú lì.
The people of the colony finally gained independence after a long struggle.
殖民地。
Lì shǐ kè shàng wǒ men tǎo lùn le zhí mín dì de xíng chéng yǔ yǐng xiǎng.
In history class we discussed the formation and impact of colonies.

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.

殖民colonize

殖zhímultiply民mínpeople

动宾Verb + object

“殖民” speaks of extending rule over people, and “地” gives land, so the word names a colony.

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.

歹直殖

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

直

直zhí殖zhí

Same sound today

殖 is built from 歹 and 直, with 歹 giving the meaning and 直 giving the sound.

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

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

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

土也地

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

也

也yě地dì

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

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Appears in

HSK 2.0 Level 6 Government & Politics

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