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南半球 (Nán bàn qiú) — Southern Hemisphere

Definition

noun
Southern Hemisphere

Examples

  • 南半球。
    Ào dà lì yà zài Nán bàn qiú.
    Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • 南半球。
    Nán bàn qiú De dōng tiān bǐ běi bàn qiú liáng kuai.
    The winter in the Southern Hemisphere is cooler than in the Northern Hemisphere.
  • 南半球。
    Wǒ cóng lái méi qù guò Nán bàn qiú de guó jiā.
    I've never been to a country in the Southern Hemisphere.

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.

南nánsouth
半球hemisphere
半bànhalf球qiúsphere
偏正Modifier + head

南 points to the southern side of the earth, and 半球 means a half-sphere.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 南 →

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

The shape pairs 八 (to divide) with 牛 (cow), showing a cow cut into two halves.

Open 半 →

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
求
求qiú球qiú
Same sound today

球 is built from 玉, meaning jade, and 求, which gives the sound.

Open 球 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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