盐都 (yán dōu) — Yandu District (in Yancheng, Jiangsu)

Definition

noun

Yandu District (in Yancheng, Jiangsu)

盐都。
Wǒ míng nián dǎ suàn qù yán dōu lǚ yóu.
I plan to travel to Yandu District next year.
盐都。
yán dōu De jīng jì fā zhǎn hěn kuài.
The economic development of Yandu District is very fast.
盐都。
Tā cóng xiǎo zài yán dōu zhǎng dà.
He grew up in Yandu District since childhood.

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.

都dōucapital/city

盐 points to salt, and 都 names a city or capital.

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 鹽; 盐 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

鹵鹵lǔsalt

Sound part声符shēngfú

監

監jiān鹽yán

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

The traditional form 鹽 uses 鹵 to show salt and 監 for the sound; the simplified 盐 is a later shorthand.

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

邑邑yìtown, city

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

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

都 is built from 者, which supplies the sound, and 邑, meaning town or city.