TongTong
Sign in

拉美 (Lā Měi) — Latin America

Definition

noun
Latin America

Examples

  • 拉美。
    Lā Měi De jīng jì zēng zhǎng sù dù hěn kuài.
    Latin America's economic growth rate is very fast.
  • 拉美。
    Hěn duō zhōng guó gōng sī qù Lā Měi tóu zī.
    Many Chinese companies invest in Latin America.
  • 拉美。
    Lā Měi De wén huà hé ōu zhōu yǒu hěn dà bù tóng.
    Latin American culture is very different from Europe's.

Origin

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.

Open 拉 →

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

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

Open 美 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.