波斯尼亚人 (bō sī ní yà rén) — Bosnian (person)

Definition

noun
Bosnian (person)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 波斯尼亚人。
    Tā shì yí wèi bō sī ní yà rén.
    He is a Bosnian.
  • 波斯尼亚人。
    Wǒ rèn shi jǐ wèi bō sī ní yà rén.
    I know a few Bosnians.
  • 波斯尼亚人。
    bō sī ní yà rén De yǔ yán shì bō sī ní yà yǔ.
    The language of Bosnians is Bosnian.

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.

波斯尼亚Bosnia
波bō斯sī尼ní亚yà
音译Transliteration
人rénperson

波斯尼亚 spells Bosnia and 人 names a person, giving a person from Bosnia.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí波bō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 皮 gives the sound.

Open 波 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 斯 →

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

The shape draws one person sitting on or leaning against another person, giving the sense of stopping close to someone.

Open 尼 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 亞; 亚 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 亞 likely shows an overhead view of a construction, perhaps a 亞-shaped tomb. Its later simplified form 亚 is just a shorthand.

Open 亚 →

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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