约旦河 (Yuē dàn hé) — Jordan River (river in southwestern Asia)

Definition

noun
Jordan River (river in southwestern Asia)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 约旦河。
    Yuē dàn hé Shì zhōng dōng dì qū yì tiáo zhòng yào de hé liú.
    The Jordan River is an important river in the Middle East.
  • 约旦河。
    Yuē dàn hé De hé shuǐ bèi yòng yú guàn gài nóng tián.
    The water of the Jordan River is used to irrigate farmland.
  • 约旦河。
    Zhè ge guó jiā wèi yú Yuē dàn hé de xī àn.
    This country is located on the west bank of the Jordan River.

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.

约旦
约yuē旦dàn
河hériver

约旦 spells Jordan, and 河 means river.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo約yuē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Open 约 →

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
日日rì
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng旦dàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

旦 combines 日 (sun/day) with 丁 as a sound part; the story about the sun rising over a line is not the original explanation.

Open 旦 →

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
何
何hé河hé
Same sound today

河 pairs 水 (water) with 何, which gives the sound. The 水 part marks it as a word for a river.

Open 河 →

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