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达勒姆 (dá lè mǔ) — Durham (city in northeast England, home of Durham University); Durham (city in North Carolina, USA)

Definition

noun
Durham (city in northeast England, home of Durham University)Durham (city in North Carolina, USA)
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 达勒姆。
    Wǒ míng nián yào qù dá lè mǔ liú xué.
    I'm going to study abroad in Durham next year.
  • 达勒姆。
    dá lè mǔ Shì yīng guó yí gè hěn yǒu lì shǐ de lǎo chéng.
    Durham is a historic old city in England.
  • 达勒姆。
    Tā zài dá lè mǔ dà xué dú jīng jì xué.
    He studies economics at Durham University.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

达dá
勒lè
姆mǔ

The characters 达勒姆 carry no meaning of their own here; they spell the foreign place name Durham.

Sound-only characters

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
大
大dà达dá
Same sound today

This form 达 pairs 辶 (written in full as 辵) with 大 as a sound component.

Open 达 →

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
革革gé
Sound part声符shēngfú
力
力lì勒lè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

勒 pairs 革 (leather), because bridles are made of leather, with 力, which gives the sound.

Open 勒 →

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
女女nǚfemale
Sound part声符shēngfú
母
母mǔ姆
Same sound today

姆 pairs 女 (female) on the left with 母 on the right, and 母 gives the sound.

Appears in
City & Urban

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