吉隆坡 (Jí lóng pō) — Kuala Lumpur | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Kuala Lumpur

吉隆坡。
Wǒ zuò fēi jī qù Jí lóng pō.
I flew to Kuala Lumpur.
吉隆坡。
Jí lóng pō Shì mǎ lái xī yà de shǒu dū.
Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia.
吉隆坡。
Wǒ zài Jí lóng pō zhù le liǎng tiān.
I stayed in Kuala Lumpur for two days.

Characters in this word

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

In the earliest forms, 吉 was drawn with a mouth-like lower part and an upper part that later became today's upper shape.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

降

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

The shape of 隆 is made from 生 and 降, with 降 giving the sound; an older part was later dropped.

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

土皮坡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔdirt

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

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

坡 combines 土, shown as dirt, with 皮, a part used for sound.