里海 (lǐ hǎi) — Caspian Sea

Definition

noun
Caspian Sea

Examples

  • 里海,。
    lǐ hǎi Shì shì jiè shàng zuì dà de nèi lù hú, wèi yú ōu zhōu hé yà zhōu zhī jiān.
    The Caspian Sea is the largest inland lake in the world, located between Europe and Asia.
  • 里海。
    lǐ hǎi Zhōu biān guó jiā tōng guò hé zuò xié yì gòng tóng kāi fā nà lǐ de shí yóu zī yuán.
    The countries around the Caspian Sea jointly develop the oil resources there through cooperation agreements.
  • ,里海,。
    Yóu yú qì hòu biàn huà, lǐ hǎi de shuǐ wèi jìn nián lái chí xù xià jiàng, yǐn qǐ guó jì guān zhù.
    Due to climate change, the water level of the Caspian Sea has been continuously declining in recent years, drawing international attention.

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.

里lǐinside

里 means inside and 海 means sea, naming an inland sea.

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Open 海 →

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