阿尔法 (ā ěr fǎ) — alpha (Greek letter Α, α)

Definition

noun
alpha (Greek letter Α, α)

Examples

  • 阿尔法。
    ā ěr fǎ Shì xī là zì mǔ biǎo de dì yī gè zì mǔ.
    Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet.
  • 阿尔法。
    Zhè zhǒng shè xiàn bèi chēng wéi ā ěr fǎ shè xiàn.
    This type of radiation is called alpha rays.
  • 阿尔法。
    Ruǎn jiàn de dì yī gè cè shì bǎn jiào ā ěr fǎ bǎn běn.
    The first test version of the software is called the alpha version.

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
尔ěr
法fǎ

The characters only spell the foreign sound alpha; none carries its own meaning here.

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 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爾; 尔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爾, simplified as 尔, originally drew cloth on a loom with crossing threads. It was borrowed for its sound to write “you,” so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 尔 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →

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