兰特 (lán tè) — Rand (South African currency); Randt (surname)

Definition

noun

Rand (South African currency)Randt (surname)

兰特。
Nán fēi de huò bì shì lán tè.
South Africa's currency is the rand.
兰特，。
Tā xìng lán tè, jiào yuē hàn.
His surname is Randt, and his given name is John.
兰特。
Wǒ zài yín háng huàn le wǔ bǎi lán tè.
I exchanged 500 rand at the bank.

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 兰 and 特 carry no meaning on their own; together they spell the name Rand or Randt.

Sound-only characters

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 蘭; 兰 is its simplified writing.

艹闌蘭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant

Sound part声符shēngfú

闌

闌lán蘭lán

Same sound today

In the traditional form 蘭, 艹 marks it as a plant and 闌 stands for the sound; the simplified 兰 is a later shorthand, not the original parts.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

牛寺特

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

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

The shape combines 牛 (ox) with 寺, which gives the pronunciation; it originally meant a large bull.

Appears in