理查德 (Lǐ chá dé) — Richard (name)

Definition

noun
Richard (name)

Examples

  • 理查德。
    Lǐ chá dé Shì wǒ de yīng wén lǎo shī.
    Richard is my English teacher.
  • 理查德？
    Nǐ rèn shi Lǐ chá dé ma?
    Do you know Richard?
  • 理查德。
    Lǐ chá dé Zuó tiān gěi wǒ dǎ le yí gè diàn huà.
    Richard called me yesterday.

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.

理lǐ
查chá
德dé

The characters only spell the foreign name Richard; 理, 查, and 德 carry no independent meaning here.

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ理lǐ
Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Open 理 →

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
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě查chá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

查 pairs 木 (wood) with 且, which shows the sound. It originally meant a hawthorn tree or a wooden raft.

Open 查 →

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
彳彳chìroad
Sound part声符shēngfú
惪
惪dé德dé
Same sound today

德 combines 彳, a road, with 惪, a component meaning virtue that also supplies the sound.

Open 德 →

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