澳大利亚 (Aò dà lì yà) — Australia

Definition

noun
Australia

Examples

  • 澳大利亚
    Wǒ míng nián shǔ jià xiǎng qù Aò dà lì yà lǚ yóu.
    I want to travel to Australia next summer vacation.
  • 澳大利亚
    Tā de péng you shì cóng Aò dà lì yà lái de.
    Her friend is from Australia.
  • 澳大利亚
    Aò dà lì yà De shǒu dū shì kān péi lā.
    The capital of Australia is Canberra.

Origin

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
shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
àoào
Same sound today

澳 is made from 水, water, plus 奧, which gives the sound.

Open 澳 →

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 亞; 亚 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 亞 likely shows an overhead view of a construction, perhaps a 亞-shaped tomb. Its later simplified form 亚 is just a shorthand.

Open 亚 →

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