渥太华 (Wò tài huá) — Ottawa (capital of Canada)

Definition

noun

Ottawa (capital of Canada)

渥太华。
Wò tài huá Shì jiā ná dà de shǒu dū.
Ottawa is the capital of Canada.
渥太华。
Qù nián xià tiān wǒ qù le Wò tài huá lǚ yóu.
I traveled to Ottawa last summer.
渥太华。
Wò tài huá De dōng tiān fēi cháng lěng.
Ottawa's winter is very cold.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

屋

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

渥 is made from 水 (water) and 屋 (wū), and 屋 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

太 is a modified form of 大, with an extra dot added to show 'too big'.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 華; 华 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 華 showed flowers on a plant, with stalk and leaves below. The simplified 华 is a later shorthand and not the original picture.

Appears in