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波特兰 (bō tè lán) — Portland (city)

Definition

noun
Portland (city)

Examples

  • 波特兰。
    Wǒ zhù zài bō tè lán.
    I live in Portland.
  • 波特兰。
    bō tè lán Shì yí gè fēi cháng xiàn dài huà de chéng shì.
    Portland is a very modern city.
  • 波特兰？
    Nǐ céng jīng qù guò bō tè lán ma?
    Have you ever been to Portland?

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

波bō
特tè
兰lán

波特兰 spells the foreign name Portland; 波, 特, 兰 carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

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 →

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
牛牛niúox
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì特tè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape combines 牛 (ox) with 寺, which gives the pronunciation; it originally meant a large bull.

Open 特 →

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 蘭; 兰 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant
Sound part声符shēngfú
闌
闌lán蘭lán
Same sound today

In the traditional form 蘭, 艹 marks it as a plant and 闌 stands for the sound; the simplified 兰 is a later shorthand, not the original parts.

Open 兰 →
Appears in
City & Urban

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