TongTong
Sign in

地名 (dì míng) — place name

Definition

noun
place name

Examples

  • 地名？
    Nǐ zhī dào zhè ge dì míng ma?
    Do you know this place name?
  • 地名。
    Dì tú shàng yǒu hěn duō dì míng.
    There are many place names on the map.
  • 地名。
    Lǚ yóu de shí hou wǒ jì zhù le hěn duō wài guó dì míng.
    When traveling, I remembered many foreign place names.

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dìplace
名míngname

地 is a place and 名 a name, so the word denotes a place name.

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 →

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →
Appears in
Language

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.