安阳市 (An yáng shì) — Anyang, a prefecture-level city in Henan Province, China

Definition

noun
Anyang, a prefecture-level city in Henan Province, China

Examples

  • 安阳市。
    Wǒ qù nián xià tiān qù An yáng shì lǚ yóu le.
    I traveled to Anyang last summer.
  • 安阳市。
    An yáng shì Shì hé nán shěng de yí gè zhòng yào chéng shì.
    Anyang is an important city in Henan Province.
  • 安阳市。
    An yáng shì De rén kǒu chāo guò wǔ bǎi wàn.
    Anyang's population exceeds five million.

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.

安阳Anyang
安ān阳yáng
市shìcity

“安阳” names Anyang and “市” means city, together giving the city 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
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 陽; 阳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fùhill
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng陽yáng
Same sound today

In the traditional form 陽, 阜 shows a hill and 昜 is the older character for the word, tied to sunshine and the sound; simplified 阳 is a later shorthand.

Open 阳 →

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
兮兮xībustling
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī市shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The old form 市 pairs 兮, meaning bustling, with 之, the sound part.

Open 市 →

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