西半球 (xī bàn qiú) — Western Hemisphere

Definition

noun
Western Hemisphere

Examples

  • 西半球。
    xī bàn qiú Bāo kuò běi měi zhōu hé nán měi zhōu.
    The Western Hemisphere includes North America and South America.
  • ，西半球。
    Zhōng guó wèi yú dōng bàn qiú, ér měi guó zài xī bàn qiú.
    China is in the Eastern Hemisphere, while the U.S. is in the Western Hemisphere.
  • 西半球。
    Wǒ men xué xí xī bàn qiú de qì hòu tè diǎn.
    We are studying the climate characteristics of the Western Hemisphere.

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.

西xīwest
半球hemisphere
半bànhalf球qiúglobe
偏正Modifier + head

西 means west, 半球 means half of the globe; together name the western half.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 西 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 八 (to divide) with 牛 (cow), showing a cow cut into two halves.

Open 半 →

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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