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比利时人 (bǐ lì shí rén) — Belgian (person)

Definition

noun
Belgian (person)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 比利时人。
    Tā shì yí gè bǐ lì shí rén.
    He is a Belgian.
  • 比利时人。
    Hěn duō bǐ lì shí rén zài zhōng guó gōng zuò.
    Many Belgians work in China.
  • 比利时人。
    Wǒ rèn shi yí wèi bǐ lì shí rén péng you.
    I know a Belgian friend.

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.

比利时Belgium
比bǐ利lì时shí
人rénperson

比利时 names Belgium, and 人 means person, denoting a person from Belgium.

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.

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 匕匕bǐ

比 is two 匕 placed side by side. Chu Wan-li treats both as sound parts, while an old reading takes the side-by-side arrangement as putting things next to each other.

Open 比 →

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →

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 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
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