拉古纳 (lā gǔ nà) — Laguna (place name)

Definition

noun

Laguna (place name)

拉古纳。
Wǒ míng nián dǎ suàn qù lā gǔ nà lǚ xíng.
I plan to travel to Laguna next year.
拉古纳。
lā gǔ nà Shì yí gè fēi cháng měi lì de hǎi biān chéng shì.
Laguna is a very beautiful coastal city.
拉古纳。
Tā men zhù zài lā gǔ nà fù jìn.
They live near Laguna.

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.

拉古纳 spells Laguna; the characters are only sound marks and carry no meaning here.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

立

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.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One reading of 古 sees a shield-like shape above an open mark, showing strength and firmness. Another sees a person spitting out bad-tasting food.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 納; 纳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk, thin thread

Sound part声符shēngfú

内

Same sound today

The traditional form 納 has 糸 (silk, thin thread) and 内, which gives the sound; the simplified 纳 is a shorthand.