瓦胡岛 (wǎ hú dǎo) — Oahu (island in Hawaii)

Definition

noun

Oahu (island in Hawaii)

Measure word · 座

瓦胡岛。
Jīn nián xià tiān wǒ xiǎng qù wǎ hú dǎo lǚ yóu.
I want to travel to Oahu this summer.
瓦胡岛。
wǎ hú dǎo Yǒu hěn duō měi lì de hǎi tān.
Oahu has many beautiful beaches.
瓦胡岛？
Nǐ zài wǎ hú dǎo zhù le duō jiǔ?
How long did you stay in Oahu?

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.

瓦胡Oahu

“瓦胡” spells the foreign name Oahu, and “岛” marks it as an island.

Characters in this word

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

瓦’s shape is a picture of fired earthenware pottery or a tile.

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

⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

胡 combines 古, which points to its sound, with ⺼ (肉), meaning meat or flesh.

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 島; 岛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

山山shānmountain

Sound part声符shēngfú

鳥

鳥niǎo島dǎo

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

The traditional form 島 uses 山, meaning mountain, and 鳥 for the sound. The simplified 岛 is a later shorthand.

Appears in