菲律宾 (Fēi lǜ bīn) — Philippines

Definition

noun
Philippines

Examples

  • 菲律宾。
    Wǒ qù nián qù le Fēi lǜ bīn.
    I went to the Philippines last year.
  • 菲律宾。
    Fēi lǜ bīn Shì yí gè měi lì de dǎo guó.
    The Philippines is a beautiful island country.
  • 菲律宾。
    Fēi lǜ bīn De shǒu dū shì mǎ ní lā.
    The capital of the Philippines is Manila.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi菲fěi
Same sound today

菲 puts 艹, showing a plant, together with 非, which gives its sound.

Open 菲 →

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
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
聿
聿yù律lǜ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

律 puts 彳 beside 聿: 彳 is the part tied to the meaning, and 聿 is the part tied to the sound.

Open 律 →

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 賓; 宾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡧍
𡧍𡧍賓bīn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 賓 is built from 𡧍 and 貝: 𡧍 gives the sound, and 貝 relates to the meaning. The simplified 宾 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 宾 →
Appears in
China — Places

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