TongTong
Sign in

檀香山 (Tán xiāng shān) — Honolulu

Definition

noun
Honolulu

Examples

  • 檀香山。
    Wǒ qù nián xià tiān qù le Tán xiāng shān.
    I went to Honolulu last summer.
  • 檀香山。
    Tán xiāng shān Shì xià wēi yí de shǒu dū.
    Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii.
  • 檀香山。
    Tán xiāng shān De fēng jǐng fēi cháng měi lì.
    The scenery of Honolulu is very beautiful.

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.

檀香sandalwood
檀tánsandalwood香xiāngfragrance
偏正Modifier + head
山shānmountain

檀香 means sandalwood and 山 means mountain, forming the place name.

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
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
亶
亶dǎn檀tán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

檀 combines 木, tree or wood, with 亶, which points to its sound.

Open 檀 →

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

香's early form paired 黍 (glutinous millet) with 口 (mouth), perhaps showing millet drink being taken in or offered.

Open 香 →

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

山 shows three mountain peaks side by side.

Open 山 →
Appears in
City & Urban

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