青岛 (Qīng dǎo) — Qingdao (city in Shandong province, China)

Definition

noun

Qingdao (city in Shandong province, China)

青岛。
Qīng dǎo De hǎi xiān fēi cháng yǒu míng.
Qingdao's seafood is very famous.
青岛。
Wǒ jì huà míng nián qù Qīng dǎo lǚ yóu.
I plan to travel to Qingdao next year.
青岛。
Qīng dǎo Pí jiǔ zài zhōng guó hěn yǒu míng.
Qingdao beer is very famous in China.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

The name comes from a green (青) island (岛).

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.

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 島; 岛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

山山shānmountain

Sound part声符shēngfú

鳥

鳥niǎo島dǎo

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

The traditional form 島 uses 山, meaning mountain, and 鳥 for the sound. The simplified 岛 is a later shorthand.

Appears in