马其顿人 (mǎ qí dùn rén) — Macedonian (person from Macedonia)

Definition

noun

Macedonian (person from Macedonia)

Measure word · 个

马其顿人。
Tā shì yí gè mǎ qí dùn rén.
He is a Macedonian.
马其顿人。
Hěn duō mǎ qí dùn rén zhù zài nà ge chéng shì lǐ.
Many Macedonians live in that city.
马其顿人。
Zuó tiān wǒ rèn shi le yí wèi mǎ qí dùn rén péng you.
Yesterday I made a Macedonian friend.

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.

马其顿

马其顿 names Macedonia and 人 means person, together a person from that place.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

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

The modern form 其 comes from an early drawing of a basket, with a stand added underneath.

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 頓; 顿 is its simplified writing.

屯頁頓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yè

Sound part声符shēngfú

屯

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頓 combines 屯, drawn as a kneeling person's head, with 頁, and expresses a bow or kowtow. The simplified 顿 replaces 頁 with 页.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.