首都 (shǒu dū) — capital (city) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

首都 is the capital city of a country. It refers to a nation-level capital, unlike 省会 (provincial capital) or 首府 (capital of an autonomous region).

noun

capital (city)

Measure word · 个

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.

首shǒufirst/chief

都dōucapital/city

首 as first or chief joins 都 as capital to mean the chief capital city.

Characters in this word

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

The shape comes from an old drawing of an animal's head, showing a long mouth and horns; the version with hair became 首.

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

邑邑yìtown, city

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

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

都 is built from 者, which supplies the sound, and 邑, meaning town or city.

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