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纽卡斯尔 (Niǔ kǎ sī ěr) — Newcastle (city in England)

Definition

noun
Newcastle (city in England)

Examples

  • 纽卡斯尔。
    Wǒ qù nián qù guò Niǔ kǎ sī ěr.
    I went to Newcastle last year.
  • 纽卡斯尔。
    Niǔ kǎ sī ěr Shì yīng guó dōng běi bù de yí gè chéng shì.
    Newcastle is a city in northeastern England.
  • 纽卡斯尔。
    Tā zài Niǔ kǎ sī ěr dà xué xué xí gōng chéng.
    He studies engineering at Newcastle University.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紐; 纽 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
丑
丑chǒu紐niǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紐 has 糸 (silk) for tying and 丑 for sound; 丑 also points to a claw or hand, fitting a handle. The simplified 纽 is a later shorthand.

Open 纽 →

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

卡 is made from 上 (up) and 下 (down), with their horizontal lines fused, showing something squeezed between above and below.

Open 卡 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 斯 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爾; 尔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爾, simplified as 尔, originally drew cloth on a loom with crossing threads. It was borrowed for its sound to write “you,” so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 尔 →
Appears in
City & Urban

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