世界银行 (Shì jiè Yín háng) — World Bank

Definition

noun
World Bank

Examples

  • 世界银行。
    Shì jiè Yín háng Xiàng fā zhǎn zhōng guó jiā tí gōng dài kuǎn.
    The World Bank provides loans to developing countries.
  • 世界银行。
    Shì jiè Yín háng De zǒng bù zài měi guó huá shèng dùn.
    The World Bank's headquarters is in Washington, D.C.
  • 世界银行。
    Zhōng guó shì Shì jiè Yín háng de zhòng yào chéng yuán guó.
    China is an important member country of the World Bank.

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.

世界world
世shìworld界jièrealm
联合Side by side
银行bank
银yínsilver行xíngfirm
偏正Modifier + head

世界 means world and 银行 means bank, so the name points to a bank for the whole world.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 世 →

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
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
介
介jiè界jiè
Same sound today

界 is built from 田 (field) and 介. 田 carries the meaning, while 介 gives the sound.

Open 界 →

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 銀; 银 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn銀yín
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 銀 has 金, meaning metal, and 艮, used for the sound; the simplified 银 is a shorthand.

Open 银 →

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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