亚得里亚海 (Yà dé lǐ yà hǎi) — Adriatic Sea

Definition

noun
Adriatic Sea

Examples

  • 亚得里亚海。
    Yà dé lǐ yà hǎi Shì dì zhōng hǎi de yí bù fen.
    The Adriatic Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea.
  • 亚得里亚海。
    Měi nián xià tiān dōu yǒu hěn duō yóu kè qù Yà dé lǐ yà hǎi dù jià.
    Every summer many tourists go to the Adriatic Sea for vacation.
  • 亚得里亚海。
    Yà dé lǐ yà hǎi Yán àn yǒu xǔ duō lì shǐ yōu jiǔ de gǔ chéng.
    Along the coast of the Adriatic Sea there are many ancient cities with long histories.

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.

亚得里亚Adriatic
亚yà得dé里lǐ亚yà
音译Transliteration
海hǎisea

亚得里亚 is a sound spelling for Adriatic, and 海 means sea.

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 亞; 亚 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 亞 likely shows an overhead view of a construction, perhaps a 亞-shaped tomb. Its later simplified form 亚 is just a shorthand.

Open 亚 →

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 亞; 亚 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 亞 likely shows an overhead view of a construction, perhaps a 亞-shaped tomb. Its later simplified form 亚 is just a shorthand.

Open 亚 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi海hǎi
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.

Open 海 →

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