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贝鲁特 (Bèi lǔ tè) — Beirut, capital of Lebanon

Definition

noun
Beirutcapital of Lebanon

Examples

  • 贝鲁特。
    Bèi lǔ tè Shì lí bā nèn de shǒu dū.
    Beirut is the capital of Lebanon.
  • 贝鲁特。
    Tā qù nián qù Bèi lǔ tè chū chāi le.
    He went to Beirut on a business trip last year.
  • 贝鲁特。
    Guān yú Bèi lǔ tè de xīn wén hěn duō.
    There is a lot of news about Beirut.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貝; 贝 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 貝, not the simplified 贝, shows a cowrie shell used as money in ancient China.

Open 贝 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 魯; 鲁 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 魯 pairs 魚 (fish) and 口 (mouth) to show fish entering the mouth, giving the sense delicious/excellent. The simplified 鲁 is a later shorthand, not the original picture.

Open 鲁 →

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
牛牛niúox
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì特tè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape combines 牛 (ox) with 寺, which gives the pronunciation; it originally meant a large bull.

Open 特 →
Appears in
City & Urban

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