布拉迪斯拉发 (Bù lā dí sī lā fā) — Bratislava, capital of Slovakia

Definition

noun
Bratislavacapital of Slovakia

Examples

  • 布拉迪斯拉发？
    Nǐ zhī dào Bù lā dí sī lā fā ma?
    Do you know Bratislava?
  • 布拉迪斯拉发。
    Bù lā dí sī lā fā Shì yí gè piào liang de chéng shì.
    Bratislava is a beautiful city.
  • 布拉迪斯拉发？
    Nǐ yǒu jī huì qù Bù lā dí sī lā fā ma?
    Do you have a chance to go to Bratislava?

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.

布bù
拉lā
迪dí
斯sī
拉lā
发fā

布拉迪斯拉发 spells Bratislava, and its characters carry no meaning 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
巾巾jīnkerchief
Sound part声符shēngfú
父
父fù布bù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

布 pairs 巾, a kerchief, with 父 as a sound part.

Open 布 →

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 迪 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 斯 →

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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