About
The character for "island", now written as 岛 in its simplified form, originates from the traditional character 島, which visually combines the component for mountain (山) positioned above the component for bird (鳥). This structure conceptually suggests a landmass, often a mountainous protrusion, where birds might alight or inhabit, effectively capturing the idea of an isolated piece of land surrounded by water. Over time, the semantic focus solidified firmly on the geographical feature itself, with the avian element becoming a largely historical phonetic and pictorial component rather than an active contributor to meaning. The character's application also broadened metaphorically to describe any isolated or detached entity resembling an island in form or function. Its structural evolution involved streamlining the complex traditional form, notably simplifying the "bird" component, to create the more graphically economical version in common use today.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这是一个美丽的岛。
我们坐船去那个岛。
海岛上的风景很迷人。
这个岛屿有许多独特的动植物。
如果想去那座岛，必须提前预订船票。
尽管那个岛很偏远，但每年还是吸引大量游客。
科学家们正在研究这座岛屿的地质结构和生态系统。
由于全球气候变暖，海平面上升，许多低洼岛屿面临被淹没的危险。