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地中海 (Dì zhōng hǎi) — Mediterranean Sea

Definition

noun
Mediterranean Sea

Examples

  • 地中海。
    Dì zhōng hǎi Shì ōu zhōu zhù míng de lǚ yóu mù dì dì.
    The Mediterranean Sea is a famous travel destination in Europe.
  • 地中海。
    Dì zhōng hǎi De xià tiān fēi cháng yán rè gān zào.
    The Mediterranean summer is very hot and dry.
  • 地中海。
    Dì zhōng hǎi Yán àn de guó jiā yǒu hěn duō lì shǐ wén huà yí chǎn.
    The countries along the Mediterranean coast have many historical and cultural heritage sites.

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.

地中middle of the earth
地dìearth中zhōngmiddle
偏正Modifier + head
海hǎisea

地 and 中 give 'middle of the earth', naming the 海 (sea).

Characters in this word

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi海hǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Open 海 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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