伯利恒 (Bó lì héng) — Bethlehem (city in the West Bank, biblical birt…

Definition

noun

Bethlehem (city in the West Bank, biblical birthplace of Jesus)

伯利恒。
Měi nián dōu yǒu hěn duō yóu kè qù Bó lì héng cān guān.
Many tourists visit Bethlehem every year.
伯利恒。
Bó lì héng Shì yē sū dàn shēng de dì fāng.
Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus.
伯利恒。
Tā men zài Bó lì héng dù guò le yí gè nán wàng de shèng dàn jié.
They spent an unforgettable Christmas in Bethlehem.

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.

The characters spell the foreign name Bethlehem and carry no meaning of their own.

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

人人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

白

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

伯 pairs 人 (person) with 白, which gives its sound.

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 恆; 恒 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 恆 pairs 心, a heart, with 亙, a partial moon, which provides the sound; 恒 is a later simplified shape.

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