苏 (sū) — short for Suzhou; short for Jiangsu province; short for the former Soviet Union

Definition

Short form of place names: Suzhou city, Jiangsu province, and (historically) the Soviet Union. Usually appears as part of a two-character compound (苏北, 苏杭, 苏联).

adjective
short for Suzhoushort for Jiangsu provinceshort for the former Soviet Union
Easily confused

Examples

  • 苏。
    Tā lái zì sū běi.
    He is from northern Jiangsu.
  • 苏。
    sū Háng dì qū fēng jǐng fēi cháng yōu měi.
    The Suzhou-Hangzhou area is very beautiful.
  • 。
    Tā céng jīng zài sū lián gōng zuò guò.
    He once worked in the Soviet Union.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 蘇; 苏 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 苏 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 蘇; in others it is 甦 or 囌.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
穌
穌sū蘇Sū
Same sound today

The traditional form 蘇 uses 艸 (grass; plant) for meaning and 穌 for sound; the simplified 苏 is a later shorthand.

Appears in
China — Places5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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