列宁格勒 (Liè níng gé lè) — Leningrad (former name of Saint Petersburg, 1923–1991)

Definition

noun
Leningrad (former name of Saint Petersburg, 1923–1991)

Examples

  • 列宁格勒。
    Liè níng gé lè Shì é luó sī de yí zuò lì shǐ míng chéng.
    Leningrad is a historic city in Russia.
  • ，列宁格勒。
    Zài sū lián shí qī, Liè níng gé lè shì zhòng yào de gōng yè zhōng xīn.
    During the Soviet period, Leningrad was an important industrial center.
  • ，列宁格勒。
    Xiàn zài, Liè níng gé lè yǐ jīng gǎi míng wèi shèng bǐ dé bǎo.
    Now, Leningrad has been renamed Saint Petersburg.

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.

列liè
宁níng
格gé
勒lè

The characters carry no meaning of their own here; together they spell the foreign name Leningrad.

Sound-only characters

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

列 combines 歹, drawn as skeletal remains, and 刀, a knife, to depict tearing apart.

Open 列 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 寧; 宁 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 皿皿mǐnfood or wine vessel
  • 丂丂kǎotable (?)
Open 宁 →

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
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè格gé
Same sound today

格 is built from 木 (wood) on the left and 各 on the right, which gives the sound.

Open 格 →

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
革革gé
Sound part声符shēngfú
力
力lì勒lè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

勒 pairs 革 (leather), because bridles are made of leather, with 力, which gives the sound.

Open 勒 →

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