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澳门 (Aò mén) — Macao; Macau (Special Administrative Region of China)

Definition

noun
MacaoMacau (Special Administrative Region of China)

Examples

  • 澳门。
    Wǒ qù guò Aò mén liǎng cì.
    I've been to Macao twice.
  • 澳门。
    Aò mén Shì zhōng guó de tè bié xíng zhèng qū.
    Macao is a Special Administrative Region of China.
  • 澳门。
    Aò mén De pú shì dàn tà fēi cháng yǒu míng.
    Macao's Portuguese-style egg tarts are very famous.

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.

澳àobay
门méngate

澳 refers to a bay and 门 to a gate, so the name is built from bay and gate.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
奧
奧ào澳ào
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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →
Appears in
China — Places

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