伊利诺斯 (yī lì nuò sī) — Illinois (U.S. state)

Definition

noun
Illinois (U.S. state)

Examples

  • 伊利诺斯。
    Wǒ qù guò yī lì nuò sī.
    I have been to Illinois.
  • 伊利诺斯。
    yī lì nuò sī Zài měi guó zhōng xī bù.
    Illinois is in the Midwest of the United States.
  • 伊利诺斯。
    yī lì nuò sī Yǒu hěn duō zhù míng de dà xué.
    Illinois has many famous universities.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

伊yī
利lì
诺nuò
斯sī

伊利诺斯 spells a foreign name; the characters 伊 利 诺 斯 carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
尹
尹yǐn伊yī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 亻 shows a person. The right part 尹 is used for the sound.

Open 伊 →

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →

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 諾; 诺 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword, speak
Sound part声符shēngfú
若
若ruò諾nuò
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 諾 pairs 言, meaning word or speak, with 若 as a sound part, for an affirmative answer. The simplified 诺 is a later shorthand.

Open 诺 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 斯 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.