法兰克福 (Fǎ lán kè fú) — Frankfurt, Germany

Definition

noun
FrankfurtGermany

Examples

  • 法兰克福。
    Wǒ qù nián zuò fēi jī qù le Fǎ lán kè fú.
    I went to Frankfurt by plane last year.
  • 法兰克福。
    Fǎ lán kè fú Shì dé guó de yí gè zhòng yào chéng shì.
    Frankfurt is an important city in Germany.
  • 法兰克福。
    Tā zhèng zài Fǎ lán kè fú xué xí jīn róng.
    She is studying finance in Frankfurt.

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.

法fǎ
兰lán
克kè
福fú

The characters 法 兰 克 福 only spell a foreign name and carry no meaning of their own.

Sound-only characters

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 克 →

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
示示shì
Sound part声符shēngfú
畐
畐fú福fú
Same sound today

福 combines 示 and 畐, with 示 carrying the meaning and 畐 the sound.

Open 福 →

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