长海 (Cháng hǎi) — Changhai (county in Liaoning, China)

Definition

A proper name: Changhai, an island county in Liaoning province. Learners will only meet it as a place name on a map or in travel reading.

noun

Changhai (county in Liaoning, China)

长海。
Cháng hǎi Shì yí gè měi lì de hǎi dǎo xiàn.
Changhai is a beautiful island county.
长海。
Wǒ qù nián xià tiān qù guò Cháng hǎi lǚ yóu.
I went to Changhai for tourism last summer.
长海。
Cháng hǎi Yǐ yú yè hé lǚ yóu yè wén míng.
Changhai is famous for its fishing industry and tourism.

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 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵每海

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.