冬奥会 (dōng ào huì) — Winter Olympics

Definition

noun
Winter Olympics

Examples

  • 冬奥会。
    Míng nián běi jīng jiāng jǔ bàn dōng ào huì.
    Beijing will host the Winter Olympics next year.
  • 冬奥会。
    Tā měi tiān dōu zài kàn dōng ào huì de zhí bō.
    He watches the Winter Olympics livestream every day.
  • 冬奥会。
    dōng ào huì Xī yǐn le lái zì shì jiè gè dì de yùn dòng yuán.
    The Winter Olympics attracts athletes from all over the world.

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.

冬奥winter Olympics
冬dōngwinter奥àoOlympics
偏正Modifier + head
会huìgames

「冬」 marks winter, 「奥」 stands for the Olympics, and 「会」 is the games, so it names the Winter Olympics.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 冬 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 奥 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →

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