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安纳波利斯 (ān nà bō lì sī) — Annapolis (capital of Maryland, USA)

Definition

noun
Annapolis (capital of Maryland, USA)

Examples

  • 安纳波利斯。
    Wǒ jì huà míng nián qù ān nà bō lì sī lǚ xíng.
    I plan to travel to Annapolis next year.
  • 安纳波利斯。
    ān nà bō lì sī Shì měi guó mǎ lǐ lán zhōu de shǒu fǔ.
    Annapolis is the capital of the US state of Maryland.
  • 安纳波利斯？
    Nǐ zhī dào ān nà bō lì sī zài nǎ ge zhōu ma?
    Do you know which state Annapolis is in?

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.

安ān
纳nà
波bō
利lì
斯sī

The characters 安, 纳, 波, 利, and 斯 carry no meaning of their own here; the word transliterates Annapolis.

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 納; 纳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk, thin thread
Sound part声符shēngfú
内
内nèi納nà
Same sound today

The traditional form 納 has 糸 (silk, thin thread) and 内, which gives the sound; the simplified 纳 is a shorthand.

Open 纳 →

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
皮
皮pí波bō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 皮 gives the sound.

Open 波 →

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 斯 →
Appears in
City & Urban

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