阿伯丁 (ā bó dīng) — Aberdeen (city on the east coast of Scotland)

Definition

noun

Aberdeen (city on the east coast of Scotland)

阿伯丁，。
Wǒ qù nián xià tiān qù le ā bó dīng, nà lǐ de gǎng kǒu hěn měi.
I went to Aberdeen last summer; the port there is very beautiful.
阿伯丁，。
ā bó dīng Shì sū gé lán dì sān dà chéng shì, yǐ huā gāng yán jiàn zhù wén míng.
Aberdeen is the third largest city in Scotland, famous for its granite architecture.
阿伯丁。
Cóng lún dūn zuò huǒ chē dào ā bó dīng dà yuē xū yào qī gè xiǎo shí.
It takes about seven hours to get from London to Aberdeen by train.

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

阜阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

可

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

The part 阜 points to a mound, and 可 gives the pronunciation; 阿 originally meant a big mound.

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

人人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

白

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

伯 pairs 人 (person) with 白, which gives its sound.

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

丁 may picture a nail head, a person's head, a square city wall, or a square star pattern.