琉球 (liú qiú) — the Ryukyu Islands (stretching from Japan to Taiwan); Liuchiu township in Pingtung County, Taiwan

Definition

Historical name for the Ryukyu Islands (chain between Japan and Taiwan) and the former Ryukyu Kingdom; also the name of a small township in Pingtung County, Taiwan. It carries a historical/cultural weight beyond a plain geographic label.

noun
the Ryukyu Islands (stretching from Japan to Taiwan)Liuchiu township in Pingtung County, Taiwan

Examples

  • 琉球。
    liú qiú Qún dǎo wèi yú rì běn hé tái wān zhī jiān.
    The Ryukyu Islands are located between Japan and Taiwan.
  • 琉球。
    Píng dōng xiàn de liú qiú xiāng shì yí gè měi lì de xiǎo dǎo.
    Liuchiu Township in Pingtung County is a beautiful small island.
  • 琉球。
    liú qiú Wáng guó céng jīng yǔ míng cháo bǎo chí mào yì guān xì.
    The Ryukyu Kingdom once maintained trade relations with the Ming Dynasty.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

琉liú
球qiú

The characters 琉 and 球 carry no meaning of their own in this place name.

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
𤣩Written in full as玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐬
㐬㐬琉
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 琉, the part 𤣩 is a form of 玉, meaning jade, while 㐬 gives the sound.

Open 琉 →

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
求
求qiú球qiú
Same sound today

球 is built from 玉, meaning jade, and 求, which gives the sound.

Open 球 →

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