新泽西州 (Xīn zé xī zhōu) — New Jersey (US state)

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

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 澤; 泽 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 澤 pairs 水 (water) with 睪 for the sound; the simplified 泽 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

州 originally drew an islet in a river.