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孟加拉 (Mèng jiā lā) — Bengal

Definition

noun
Bengal

Examples

  • 孟加拉。
    Tā lái zì Mèng jiā lā.
    He comes from Bengal.
  • 孟加拉。
    Mèng jiā lā De wén huà fēi cháng fēng fù.
    Bengal's culture is very rich.
  • 孟加拉。
    Wǒ dú guò yì běn guān yú Mèng jiā lā lì shǐ de shū.
    I read a book about the history of Bengal.

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.

孟mèng
加jiā
拉lā

The characters 孟加拉 only spell the name Bengal; their usual meanings do not contribute here.

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
子子zǐchild; son
Sound part声符shēngfú
皿
皿mǐn孟mèng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

孟 uses 子 (child; son) for the idea of a child or son, and 皿 gives the sound.

Open 孟 →

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

加 pairs 力 and 口. In one explanation 力 is strength and 口 is the mouth, meaning exaggeration; in another 力 is plowing effort and 口 is breath or exclamation, meaning extra effort.

Open 加 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
立
立lì拉lā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拉 pairs 手 (hand) with 立, a component that supplies the sound.

Open 拉 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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