爱达荷州 (Aì dá hé zhōu) — Idaho (U.S. state)

Definition

noun

Idaho (U.S. state)

Examples

爱达荷州。
Aì dá hé zhōu Shì měi guó xī běi bù de yí gè zhōu.
Idaho is a state in the northwestern United States.
爱达荷州。
Wǒ dǎ suàn míng nián qù Aì dá hé zhōu lǚ yóu.
I plan to travel to Idaho next year.
爱达荷州。
Aì dá hé zhōu Yǐ tǔ dòu hé zì rán fēng guāng wén míng.
Idaho is famous for its potatoes and natural scenery.

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.

爱达荷Idaho

爱ài达dá荷hé

州zhōustate

爱达荷 spells Idaho, and 州 gives the sense of state.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 愛; 爱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

旡

旡jì愛ài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 愛, an older shape paired 心 (heart) with 旡 as its sound part; later a foot-like 夊 was added below. The simplified 爱 is a later variant that replaces the lower part with 友.

Open 爱 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

辶大达

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

大

大dà达dá

Same sound today

This form 达 pairs 辶 (written in full as 辵) with 大 as a sound component.

Open 达 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.