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百老汇 (Bǎi lǎo huì) — (proper noun) Broadway (New York City street and theater district)

Definition

Bǎilǎohuì is the Chinese transliteration of New York City's Broadway theater district. Use it for the street and its shows, like 去看百老汇音乐剧 ('go see a Broadway musical').

noun
(proper noun) Broadway (New York City street and theater district)

Examples

  • 百老汇。
    Míng nián wǒ xiǎng qù niǔ yuē de Bǎi lǎo huì kàn yì chǎng yīn yuè jù.
    Next year I want to go to Broadway in New York to watch a musical.
  • 百老汇。
    Bǎi lǎo huì De yǎn chū piào jià tōng cháng hěn gāo.
    Ticket prices for Broadway shows are usually very high.
  • 百老汇，。
    Zhè tiáo jiē jiào Bǎi lǎo huì, shì niǔ yuē zhù míng de wén huà dì biāo.
    This street is called Broadway, a famous cultural landmark in New York.

Origin

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
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

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 匯; 汇 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 汇 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (汇, 汇款) it is 匯; in others (词汇, 汇报) it is 彙.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
匚匚fāng
Sound part声符shēngfú
淮
淮huái匯huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 匯 is built from 匚 as a meaning part and 淮 as a sound part.

Open 汇 →
Appears in
Film & Theater5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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