希腊人 (xī xī rén) — Greek (person); the Greeks (collective) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Greek (person)the Greeks (collective)

Measure word · 个

Examples

希腊人，。
Wǒ rèn shi yí gè xī xī rén, tā jiào qiáo zhì.
I know a Greek; his name is George.
希腊人。
Hěn duō xī xī rén xǐ huan chī gǎn lǎn yóu.
Many Greeks like to eat olive oil.
希腊人。
Nà wèi xī xī rén shì wǒ de lǎo shī.
That Greek person is my teacher.

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.

希腊Greece

希腊 names Greece and 人 means person, together it means a Greek person.

Characters in this word

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

爻爻yáo
巾巾jīncloth

希 is made from 爻 and 巾, which means cloth. How those parts connect to “hope” is not explained.

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

肉肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

昔

昔xī腊là

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

腊 pairs 肉, meaning meat, with 昔, which gives the sound.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Appears in

Ethnic Groups & Nationalities

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