密西西比州 (Mì xī xī bǐ zhōu) — Mississippi, US state

Definition

noun
MississippiUS state

Examples

  • 密西西比州。
    Mì xī xī bǐ zhōu Wèi yú měi guó nán bù.
    Mississippi state is located in the southern United States.
  • 密西西比州。
    Mì xī xī bǐ hé shì Mì xī xī bǐ zhōu zuì zhù míng de hé liú.
    The Mississippi River is the most famous river in the state of Mississippi.
  • 密西西比州。
    Zhè ge Mì xī xī bǐ zhōu yǐ yīn yuè hé měi shí wén míng.
    This state is famous for its music and food.

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.

密西西比Mississippi
密mì西xī西xī比bǐ
州zhōustate

密西西比 spells Mississippi, and 州 marks it as a state.

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
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
宓
宓mì密mì
Same sound today

密 pairs 山 (mountain) with 宓 (mì), which gives the pronunciation, to picture something hidden in the mountains, hence secret.

Open 密 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 西 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 西 →

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

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 匕匕bǐ

比 is two 匕 placed side by side. Chu Wan-li treats both as sound parts, while an old reading takes the side-by-side arrangement as putting things next to each other.

Open 比 →

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

州 originally drew an islet in a river.

Open 州 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.