About
The word 曼哈顿 (Mànhādùn) is formed through a process of phonetic borrowing, where three existing Chinese characters are selected and combined solely for how closely their sounds, when spoken in sequence, approximate the English place name "Manhattan". The original meanings of the individual characters, 曼 (graceful/long), 哈 (laughter/breath), and 顿 (pause/suddenly), are entirely disregarded in this construction. The word exists as a direct phonetic transliteration, creating a new proper noun in Chinese that corresponds exclusively to the foreign referent.
Example Sentences Hide
曼哈顿是纽约的一个区。
我去年去了曼哈顿。
曼哈顿有很多高楼大厦。
在曼哈顿，你可以看到自由女神像。
尽管曼哈顿的生活成本很高，但它依然是很多人梦想的地方。