西德 (Xī dé) — West Germany (1949–1990) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Short historical name for West Germany (the former FRG, 1949–1990). It is paired with 东德 (East Germany); after reunification in 1990 it became 德国.

noun

West Germany (1949–1990)

Examples

西德1990。
Xī dé Zài 1990 nián yǔ dōng dé tǒng yī le.
West Germany unified with East Germany in 1990.
，西德。
Dì èr cì shì jiè dà zhàn hòu, Xī dé jīng lì le kuài sù de jīng jì fù sū.
After World War II, West Germany experienced rapid economic recovery.
西德，。
Xī dé De shǒu dū shì bō ēn, ér bú shì bó lín.
The capital of West Germany was Bonn, not Berlin.

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.

德déGermany

西 'west' and 德 'Germany' combine to name West Germany.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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chìroad

Sound part声符shēngfú

惪

惪dé德dé

Same sound today

德 combines 彳, a road, with 惪, a component meaning virtue that also supplies the sound.

Appears in

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