冰岛人 (bīng dǎo rén) — Icelander | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Icelander

Measure word · 个

冰岛人。
Wǒ zuó tiān yù dào le yí gè bīng dǎo rén.
I met an Icelander yesterday.
冰岛人。
Tā shì yí wèi lái zì bīng dǎo de bīng dǎo rén.
He is an Icelander from Iceland.
冰岛人。
Hěn duō bīng dǎo rén dōu huì shuō yīng yǔ.
Many Icelanders can speak English.

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.

冰岛Iceland

偏正Modifier + head

冰岛, ice island, and 人, person, give a person from Iceland.

Characters in this word

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

冫水冰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

冫

仌bīng冰bīng

Same sound today

冰 adds 水 (water) to 冫, the short form of 仌; 冫 gives the sound, and 水 shows the meaning.

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 島; 岛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

山山shānmountain

Sound part声符shēngfú

鳥

鳥niǎo島dǎo

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

The traditional form 島 uses 山, meaning mountain, and 鳥 for the sound. The simplified 岛 is a later shorthand.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.