印第安纳 (Yìn dì ān nà) — Indiana

Definition

noun
Indiana

Examples

  • 印第安纳。
    Wǒ lái zì Yìn dì ān nà.
    I come from Indiana.
  • 印第安纳。
    Yìn dì ān nà Zài měi guó zhōng xī bù.
    Indiana is in the Midwest of the United States.
  • 印第安纳。
    Tā qù le Yìn dì ān nà dà xué.
    He went to Indiana University.

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.

印yìn
第dì
安ān
纳nà

The characters are chosen for sound, not meaning; together they spell Indiana.

Sound-only characters

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

  • 爪爪zhuǎhand
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

印 pairs 爪 (hand) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on a kneeling person.

Open 印 →

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
𥫗Written in full as竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
弟
弟dì第dì
Same sound today

第 shows 𥫗, the bamboo strips once used for writing and sorting, with 弟 giving the sound.

Open 第 →

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →

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 納; 纳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk, thin thread
Sound part声符shēngfú
内
内nèi納nà
Same sound today

The traditional form 納 has 糸 (silk, thin thread) and 内, which gives the sound; the simplified 纳 is a shorthand.

Open 纳 →

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