领海 (lǐng hǎi) — territorial waters | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

territorial waters

领海。
Zhè ge guó jiā de lǐng hǎi yǒu fēng fù de yú yè zī yuán.
This country's territorial waters have abundant fishery resources.
领海。
Tā men zhèng zài jiù lǐng hǎi jiè xiàn wèn tí jìn xíng tán pàn.
They are negotiating over the issue of territorial waters boundaries.
领海。
Guó jì fǎ guī dìng měi gè guó jiā dōu yǒu quán wéi hù zì jǐ de lǐng hǎi.
International law stipulates that every country has the right to defend its own territorial waters.

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.

领lǐngjurisdiction

领 (jurisdiction) specifies the kind of 海 (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 領; 领 is its simplified writing.

令頁領

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yè

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

Same sound today

The traditional form 領 has 令 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; the simplified 领 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.

氵每海

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

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.