TongTong
Sign in

撒哈拉 (Sā hā lā) — Sahara (desert)

Definition

noun
Sahara (desert)

Examples

  • 撒哈拉。
    Sā hā lā Shì shì jiè shàng zuì dà de shā mò zhī yī.
    The Sahara is one of the largest deserts in the world.
  • 撒哈拉。
    Tā mèng xiǎng qù Sā hā lā lǚ xíng.
    He dreams of traveling to the Sahara.
  • 撒哈拉。
    Sā hā lā De qì hòu fēi cháng gān zào.
    The climate of the Sahara is very dry.

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.

撒sā
哈hā
拉lā

The characters only spell the foreign name Sahara.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
散
散sàn撒sǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

撒 combines 扌 (hand) with 散, which gives the sound; the hand part shows scattering with the hand.

Open 撒 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
合
合hé哈hā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

哈 uses 口 (mouth) to show a mouth-related idea, and 合 as a sound part. The shape of 合 may look like two open mouths, but that is likely by chance.

Open 哈 →

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 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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