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中美洲 (Zhōng Měi zhōu) — Central America

Definition

noun
Central America

Examples

  • 中美洲。
    Zhōng Měi zhōu Wèi yú běi měi zhōu hé nán měi zhōu zhī jiān.
    Central America is located between North America and South America.
  • 中美洲。
    Hěn duō yóu kè xǐ huan qù Zhōng Měi zhōu de rè dài yǔ lín tàn xiǎn.
    Many tourists like to explore the tropical rainforests of Central America.
  • 中美洲。
    Tā jì huà xià ge yuè dào Zhōng Měi zhōu lǚ xíng liǎng zhōu.
    She plans to travel to Central America next month for two weeks.

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.

中zhōngcentral
美洲America
美měiAmerica洲zhōucontinent
偏正Modifier + head

“中” central and “美洲” America combine to name Central America.

Characters in this word

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

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

美 shows 大, a person, wearing 羊, a headdress of feathers or ram's horn.

Open 美 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
州
州zhōu洲zhōu
Same sound today

洲 is built from 水 (water) and 州, which gives the sound.

Open 洲 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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