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成吉思汗 (Chéng jí sī hàn) — Genghis Khan

Definition

Proper name for Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227), founder of the Mongol Empire. Appears mainly in history, biography, and cultural reference — not used in everyday conversation.

noun
Genghis Khan

Examples

  • 成吉思汗。
    Chéng jí sī hàn Shì měng gǔ dì guó de jiàn lì zhě.
    Genghis Khan was the founder of the Mongol Empire.
  • 成吉思汗。
    Lì shǐ kè shàng wǒ men xué xí le Chéng jí sī hàn de zhēng zhàn shì jì.
    In history class we learned about Genghis Khan's military campaigns.
  • 成吉思汗。
    Xǔ duō shū jí miáo xiě le Chéng jí sī hàn tǒng yī cǎo yuán de gù shi.
    Many books describe the story of Genghis Khan unifying the steppe.

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.

成chéng
吉jí
思sī
汗hàn

The characters 成吉思汗 carry no meaning of their own here; they transliterate the foreign name.

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
戊戊wù
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng成chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

Open 成 →

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

In the earliest forms, 吉 was drawn with a mouth-like lower part and an upper part that later became today's upper shape.

Open 吉 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
囟
囟xìn思sī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 思, 心 (heart) points to thinking, while the top part is a changed form of 囟, which supplied the sound.

Open 思 →

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān汗hàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

汗 has 水, the water form, beside 干; 水 relates to liquid sweat, while 干 gives the sound.

Open 汗 →
Appears in
History

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