西欧 (xī ōu) — Western Europe

Definition

noun
Western Europe

Examples

  • 西欧。
    Wǒ míng nián xiǎng qù xī ōu lǚ xíng.
    I want to travel to Western Europe next year.
  • 西欧。
    xī ōu Yǒu hěn duō lì shǐ yōu jiǔ de chéng shì.
    Western Europe has many cities with long histories.
  • 西欧。
    Tā lái zì xī ōu de yí gè xiǎo guó jiā.
    She comes from a small country in Western Europe.

Origin

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.

西xīwest
欧ōuEurope

西 names west and 欧 names Europe, together naming Western Europe.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 西 →

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 歐; 欧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
欠欠qiànto yawn; to exhale
Sound part声符shēngfú
區
區qū歐Ōu
Same sound today

The traditional form 歐 pairs 區 as a sound with 欠 (to yawn; to exhale), and was originally written for vomiting; simplified 欧 is a later shorthand.

Open 欧 →

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