大西洋 (Dà xī yáng) — Atlantic Ocean | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Atlantic Ocean

Examples

大西洋。
Dà xī yáng Shì shì jiè shàng dì èr dà de hǎi yáng.
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean in the world.
大西洋。
Tā zuò chuán héng dù le Dà xī yáng.
He crossed the Atlantic Ocean by ship.
大西洋。
Dà xī yáng Liǎng àn de guó jiā yǒu hěn duō wén huà jiāo liú.
The countries on both sides of the Atlantic have a lot of cultural exchange.

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.

西洋Western ocean

西xīwest洋yángocean

偏正Modifier + head

大西洋 combines 大 (great) with 西洋 (Western ocean), naming the Atlantic Ocean.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

氵羊洋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

羊

羊yáng洋yáng

Same sound today

洋 pairs 氵, the water part, with 羊 to give its sound.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

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