欧洲 (ōu zhōu) — Europe | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Europe

Examples

欧洲。
Wǒ cóng lái méi qù guò ōu zhōu.
I have never been to Europe.
欧洲。
Tā dà xué bì yè hòu qù ōu zhōu liú xué le.
After graduating from university, he went to study abroad in Europe.
欧洲。
ōu zhōu Yǒu hěn duō gǔ lǎo de jiàn zhù.
Europe has many ancient buildings.

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.

欧ōuEurope

洲zhōucontinent

欧 names Europe, and 洲 names a continent, together forming the place name Europe.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歐; 欧 is its simplified writing.

區欠歐

Meaning part形符xíngfú

欠欠qiànto yawn; to exhale

Sound part声符shēngfú

區

區qū歐Ōu

Same sound today

The traditional form 歐 pairs 區 as a sound with 欠 (to yawn; to exhale), and was originally written for vomiting; simplified 欧 is a later shorthand.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

州

州zhōu洲zhōu

Same sound today

洲 is built from 水 (water) and 州, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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