About
The character "欧" originates from its traditional form "歐", which is a phono-semantic compound consisting of the phonetic component "區" suggesting its sound and the semantic component "欠" often associated with breath or an open mouth. This structure points to its initial use as a character representing sounds, specifically the act of vomiting, a meaning now carried by a variant character "嘔". Over time, "歐" was adopted primarily as a surname within China. Its most significant semantic shift occurred when it was borrowed as a phonetic loan to transliterate foreign terms, most notably becoming the standard first character in the Chinese exonym for Europe, "Ōuzhōu". This application as a syllable in geographical and personal transliterations effectively became its dominant modern function, overshadowing its original meaning.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
欧洲有很多国家。
欧元是欧洲的货币。
我喜欢欧洲的风景。
他计划明年去欧洲旅行。
欧洲文化历史悠久而丰富。
这家公司主要面向欧洲市场。
欧盟由多个欧洲国家组成。
欧洲文艺复兴对世界影响深远。