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坎特伯雷 (Kǎn tè bó léi) — Canterbury (city in England)

Definition

noun
Canterbury (city in England)

Examples

  • 坎特伯雷。
    Wǒ míng nián xiǎng qù Kǎn tè bó léi lǚ yóu.
    I want to travel to Canterbury next year.
  • 坎特伯雷。
    Kǎn tè bó léi Shì yīng guó de yí gè lì shǐ míng chéng.
    Canterbury is a historic city in England.
  • 坎特伯雷。
    Tīng shuō Kǎn tè bó léi de jiào táng hěn yǒu míng.
    I heard the cathedral in Canterbury is very famous.

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.

坎kǎn
特tè
伯bó
雷léi

These characters carry no meaning of their own here; they only spell Canterbury.

Sound-only characters

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; soil
Sound part声符shēngfú
欠
欠qiàn坎
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

坎 is made from 土 (earth; soil) plus 欠 as the sound part.

Open 坎 →

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
牛牛niúox
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì特tè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape combines 牛 (ox) with 寺, which gives the pronunciation; it originally meant a large bull.

Open 特 →

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
人人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái伯bó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

伯 pairs 人 (person) with 白, which gives its sound.

Open 伯 →

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
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
畾
畾léi雷léi
Same sound today

The top 雨 (rain) points to the meaning, and the bottom 畾 gives the sound.

Open 雷 →
Appears in
City & Urban

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