我市 (wǒ shì) — our city (formal, used in official contexts)

Definition

A formal, written first-person reference to the speaker's own city, used in official documents and news reports rather than everyday speech.

pronoun
our city (formal, used in official contexts)

Examples

  • 我市。
    wǒ shì Jīn nián jīng jì zēng zhǎng le bǎi fēn zhī wǔ.
    Our city's economy grew by five percent this year.
  • 我市。
    wǒ shì Zhèng zài jiàn shè xīn de dì tiě xiàn lù.
    Our city is building a new subway line.
  • 我市。
    wǒ shì De kōng qì zhì liàng bǐ qù nián hǎo duō le.
    Our city's air quality is much better than last year.

Origin

Characters in this word

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.

The glyph 我 originally drew a trident-like weapon. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write the pronoun "I", so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 我 →

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
兮兮xībustling
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī市shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The old form 市 pairs 兮, meaning bustling, with 之, the sound part.

Open 市 →

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