阿姆利则 (ā mǔ lì zé) — Amritsar (city in India)

Definition

Amritsar, a city in northern India and the holiest city of Sikhism, home of the Golden Temple (金庙).

noun
Amritsar (city in India)

Examples

  • 阿姆利则。
    Wǒ qù guò yìn dù de yí gè chéng shì jiào ā mǔ lì zé.
    I've been to a city in India called Amritsar.
  • 阿姆利则。
    ā mǔ lì zé Shì xī kè jiào de zhòng yào shèng dì.
    Amritsar is an important holy site of Sikhism.
  • 阿姆利则。
    Wǒ de péng you lái zì ā mǔ lì zé.
    My friend is from Amritsar.

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.

阿ā
姆mǔ
利lì
则zé

The characters in 阿姆利则 carry no meaning of their own; the whole form spells Amritsar.

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
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
可
可kě阿ā
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.

Open 阿 →

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.

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

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Open 利 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 則; 则 is its simplified writing.

  • 鼎鼎dǐngding, a bronze cauldron for cooking or sacrificial rituals
  • 刂刀dāoknife

The traditional form 則 pairs 鼎, a bronze cauldron, with 刂, a knife, possibly showing carving on a bronze vessel; the simplified 则 is a later shorthand.

Open 则 →

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