珊瑚岛 (shān hú dǎo) — coral island | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

coral island

Measure word · 座

珊瑚岛。
Zhè piàn hǎi yù yǒu hěn duō shān hú dǎo.
There are many coral islands in this sea area.
珊瑚岛。
Tā men zài shān hú dǎo shàng jiàn le yí gè dù jià cūn.
They built a resort on the coral island.
珊瑚岛。
Qián shuǐ shí wǒ kàn dào le měi lì de shān hú dǎo.
I saw beautiful coral islands while diving.

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.

珊瑚coral

The 珊瑚 name for coral combines with 岛 to mean an island made of coral.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 島; 岛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

山山shānmountain

Sound part声符shēngfú

鳥

鳥niǎo島dǎo

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

The traditional form 島 uses 山, meaning mountain, and 鳥 for the sound. The simplified 岛 is a later shorthand.