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爱斯基摩 (Aì sī jī mó) — Eskimo (attributive; used before nouns like 人, 犬, 文化, etc.)

Definition

Used as an attributive before nouns (e.g. 人, 犬, 文化) to mean 'Eskimo'. Note: the preferred modern English term is usually 'Inuit' or 'Indigenous Arctic' — 'Eskimo' may carry outdated connotations.

adjective
Eskimo (attributive; used before nouns like 人, 犬, 文化, etc.)

Examples

  • 爱斯基摩。
    Aì sī jī mó Rén shēng huó zài běi jí dì qū.
    Eskimo people live in the Arctic region.
  • 爱斯基摩。
    Aì sī jī mó Quǎn shì yì zhǒng fēi cháng nài hán de gǒu.
    The Eskimo dog is a very cold-resistant breed of dog.
  • 爱斯基摩。
    Wǒ duì Aì sī jī mó wén huà hěn gǎn xìng qù.
    I am very interested in Eskimo culture.

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.

爱ài
斯sī
基jī
摩mó

The characters 爱, 斯, 基, and 摩 carry no meaning of their own here; together they spell the foreign name Eskimo.

Sound-only characters

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 愛; 爱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
旡
旡jì愛ài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 愛, an older shape paired 心 (heart) with 旡 as its sound part; later a foot-like 夊 was added below. The simplified 爱 is a later variant that replaces the lower part with 友.

Open 爱 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 斯 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
其
其qí基jī
Same sound today

The lower 土 means earth, and the upper 其 gives the sound; together they form the idea of a foundation of earth.

Open 基 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má摩mó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

摩 combines 手 (hand) with 麻; the hand part relates to the meaning, and 麻 gives the sound.

Open 摩 →
Appears in
Ethnic Groups & Nationalities

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