中非 (Zhōng Fēi) — Central Africa (region); Sino-African (pertaining to China and Africa)

Definition

中非 has two distinct readings: Zhōng Fēi 'Central Africa' (a geographic region) and Zhōng-Fēi 'Sino-African' (relating to China and Africa as a pair). Context — proper nouns vs adjective use — disambiguates them.

noun
Central Africa (region)Sino-African (pertaining to China and Africa)

Examples

  • 中非。
    Wǒ míng nián yào qù Zhōng Fēi lǚ xíng.
    I want to travel to Central Africa next year.
  • 中非。
    Zhōng Fēi Guān xì jìn nián lái fā zhǎn xùn sù.
    Sino-African relations have developed rapidly in recent years.
  • 中非。
    Zhōng Fēi Dì qū yǒu hěn duō bù tóng de wén huà.
    The Central Africa region has many different cultures.

Origin

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 →

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

The shape of 非 is drawn from two wings facing opposite directions. It later came to be used for going against or not being.

Open 非 →

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