瑞士 (Ruì shì) — Switzerland | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Switzerland

瑞士。
Wǒ míng nián xiǎng qù Ruì shì lǚ yóu.
I want to travel to Switzerland next year.
瑞士。
Ruì shì De shǒu biǎo hěn yǒu míng.
Swiss watches are very famous.
瑞士，。
Tā lái zì Ruì shì, huì shuō dé yǔ hé fǎ yǔ.
He comes from Switzerland and can speak German and French.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

耑

耑zhuān瑞ruì

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

瑞 pairs 玉, meaning jade, with 耑, which gives its sound.

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

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.