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科索沃 (Kē suǒ wò) — Kosovo (region in Southeast Europe)

Definition

noun
Kosovo (region in Southeast Europe)

Examples

  • 科索沃。
    Kē suǒ wò Shì bā ěr gàn bàn dǎo shàng de yí gè dì qū.
    Kosovo is a region on the Balkan Peninsula.
  • 科索沃。
    Hěn duō rén duì Kē suǒ wò de lì shǐ gǎn xìng qù.
    Many people are interested in the history of Kosovo.
  • 科索沃。
    Wǒ cóng xīn wén lǐ tīng dào le guān yú Kē suǒ wò de xiāo xi.
    I heard news about Kosovo from the news.

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.

科kē
索suǒ
沃wò

The characters only spell the name Kosovo and carry no meanings of their own 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
斗斗dòumeasuring tool
Sound part声符shēngfú
禾
禾hé科kē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

科 pairs 禾, which gives the hé sound, with 斗, a measuring tool.

Open 科 →

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

  • 糸糸mìthread
  • 𣎳𣎳𣎳strip fibres off a hemp stalk

索 combines 糸 (thread) and 𣎳 (stripping fibres from a hemp stalk), showing threads or rope being pulled out from a fabric.

Open 索 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
夭
夭yāo沃wò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

沃 combines 氵 (water) with 夭 giving the sound; the shape shows irrigating with water.

Open 沃 →
Appears in
Government & Politics

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