泰国 (Tài guó) — Thailand | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Thailand

泰国。
Wǒ qù guò liǎng cì Tài guó.
I have been to Thailand twice.
泰国。
Tài guó Cài zài zhōng guó hěn shòu huān yíng.
Thai food is very popular in China.
泰国。
Màn gǔ shì Tài guó de shǒu dū.
Bangkok is the capital of Thailand.

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.

泰 names the Thai people or country and 国 means country, together naming Thailand.

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

廾廾gǒngtwo hands

Sound part声符shēngfú

大

大dà泰tài

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

泰 combines 大 for sound with 廾 (two hands) and 水 (water), showing hands handling water or something slippery.

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 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

囗或國

Meaning part形符xíngfú

囗囗wéiclosure

Sound part声符shēngfú

或

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

Appears in