拉丁美洲 (Lā dīng Měi zhōu) — Latin America | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Latin America

Examples

拉丁美洲。
Lā dīng Měi zhōu Shì yí gè yōng yǒu fēng fù wén huà de dà zhōu.
Latin America is a continent with rich culture.
拉丁美洲。
Xǔ duō Lā dīng Měi zhōu guó jiā jiǎng xī bān yá yǔ.
Many Latin American countries speak Spanish.
拉丁美洲。
Wǒ jì huà míng nián qù Lā dīng Měi zhōu lǚ xíng.
I plan to travel to Latin America next year.

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.

拉丁Latin

音译Transliteration

美洲America

美měiAmerica洲zhōucontinent

偏正Modifier + head

拉丁 gives Latin and 美洲 gives America, together naming Latin America.

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

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.

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

丁 may picture a nail head, a person's head, a square city wall, or a square star pattern.

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

羊羊yángram or feathers
大大dàperson

美 shows 大, a person, wearing 羊, a headdress of feathers or ram's horn.

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shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

州

州zhōu洲zhōu

Same sound today

洲 is built from 水 (water) and 州, which gives the sound.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

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