汤姆 (Tāng mǔ) — Tom (name)

Definition

noun
Tom (name)

Examples

  • 汤姆。
    Tāng mǔ Shì wǒ de tóng xué.
    Tom is my classmate.
  • 汤姆。
    Tāng mǔ Xǐ huan dǎ lán qiú.
    Tom likes to play basketball.
  • 汤姆？
    Nǐ rèn shi Tāng mǔ ma?
    Do you know Tom?

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.

汤tāng
姆mǔ

汤姆 spells the English name Tom; the characters carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

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 湯; 汤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng湯tāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 汤, the shape explained is 湯: 氵 is water, and 昜 gives the sound.

Open 汤 →

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
女女nǚfemale
Sound part声符shēngfú
母
母mǔ姆
Same sound today

姆 pairs 女 (female) on the left with 母 on the right, and 母 gives the sound.

Appears in
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