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布鲁塞尔 (Bù lǔ sài ěr) — Brussels

Definition

noun
Brussels

Examples

  • 布鲁塞尔。
    Wǒ míng nián dǎ suàn qù Bù lǔ sài ěr lǚ xíng.
    I plan to travel to Brussels next year.
  • 布鲁塞尔，。
    Bù lǔ sài ěr Shì bǐ lì shí de shǒu dū, yě shì ōu méng de zhǔ yào jī gòu suǒ zài dì.
    Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the seat of the main institutions of the European Union.
  • 布鲁塞尔，。
    Tā zài Bù lǔ sài ěr zhù le sān nián, xué huì le yì kǒu liú lì de fǎ yǔ.
    He lived in Brussels for three years and learned to speak fluent French.

Origin

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
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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 魯; 鲁 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 魯 pairs 魚 (fish) and 口 (mouth) to show fish entering the mouth, giving the sense delicious/excellent. The simplified 鲁 is a later shorthand, not the original picture.

Open 鲁 →

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

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 工工gōngtwo items
  • 廾廾gǒngtwo hands

塞 combines 宀 (house), 工 (two items), and 廾 (two hands), showing hands stuffing items into a house.

Open 塞 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爾; 尔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爾, simplified as 尔, originally drew cloth on a loom with crossing threads. It was borrowed for its sound to write “you,” so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 尔 →
Appears in
City & Urban

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