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南非 (Nán Fēi) — South Africa

Definition

noun
South Africa

Examples

  • 南非。
    Wǒ xiǎng qù Nán Fēi lǚ yóu.
    I want to travel to South Africa.
  • 南非。
    Nán Fēi Shì yí gè měi lì de guó jiā.
    South Africa is a beautiful country.
  • 南非。
    Wǒ de péng you zài Nán Fēi gōng zuò.
    My friend works in South Africa.

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
非fēiAfrica

南 gives south and 非 gives Africa, naming the southern African country.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 南 →

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

The shape of 非 is drawn from two wings facing opposite directions. It later came to be used for going against or not being.

Open 非 →
Appears in
International & Diplomacy

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