澳州 (ào zhōu) — (proper noun) Australia (variant of 澳洲) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Short colloquial form of 澳洲, used in casual speech for 'Australia'. The full form 澳大利亚 is more common in formal writing.

noun

(proper noun) Australia (variant of 澳洲)

Easily confused

澳洲Aò zhōulook-alikeAustralia

Examples

澳州。
Wǒ míng nián dǎ suàn qù ào zhōu lǚ xíng.
I plan to travel to Australia next year.
澳州。
ào zhōu De fēng jǐng fēi cháng měi lì.
The scenery of Australia is very beautiful.
澳州。
Tā cóng ào zhōu huí lái le.
He came back from Australia.

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.

澳àoAustralia

澳 points to Australia, and 州 means a region, giving the variant name for Australia.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

奧

奧ào澳ào

Same sound today

澳 is made from 水, water, plus 奧, which gives the sound.

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

州 originally drew an islet in a river.

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