越南 (Yuè nán) — Vietnam

Definition

noun
Vietnam

Examples

  • 越南,。
    Yuè nán Wèi yú dōng nán yà, shì yí gè fēng jǐng yōu měi de guó jiā.
    Vietnam is located in Southeast Asia and is a country with beautiful scenery.
  • 越南,。
    Wǒ dǎ suàn míng nián qù Yuè nán lǚ yóu, cháng cháng dāng dì de měi shí.
    I plan to travel to Vietnam next year and try the local cuisine.
  • 越南。
    Yuè nán De jīng jì jìn nián lái fā zhǎn dé hěn kuài.
    Vietnam's economy has developed rapidly in recent years.

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.

越南 names the land south of Yue, with 越 locating and 南 giving direction.

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
走走zǒuto walk or run
Sound part声符shēngfú
戉
戉yuè越yuè
Same sound today

越 is built from 走 (to walk or run) and 戉 (which supplies the sound); the 走 part shows the idea of going over or crossing.

Open 越 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 南 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.