Definitions

zhōu (noun) continent; island in a river

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

About

The character "洲" derives from the earlier character "州", which originally represented an island or tract of land surrounded by water. Structurally, "洲" is a phono-semantic compound formed by adding the water radical (氵) to the existing component "州", with the radical indicating its association with aquatic environments and "州" providing both phonetic and semantic elements. While "州" evolved to primarily signify administrative divisions, the addition of the water radical in "洲" specialized its meaning to refer to geographical features such as continents or riverine sandbars, distinguishing it from its administrative counterpart.

Example Sentences Hide

有很多国家。

Yàzhōu yǒu hěn duō guójiā.

Asia has many countries.

我喜欢欧的古老建筑。

Wǒ xǐhuān Ōuzhōu de gǔlǎo jiànzhú.

I like the ancient architecture of Europe.

他们计划去非旅行。

Tāmen jìhuà qù Fēizhōu lǚxíng.

They plan to travel to Africa.

大洋包括澳大利亚和新西兰。

Dàyángzhōu bāokuò Àodàlìyà hé Xīnxīlán.

Oceania includes Australia and New Zealand.

这是一次穿越南极的探险。

Zhè shì yī cì chuānyuè Nánjízhōu de tànxiǎn.

This is an expedition across Antarctica.

北美自由贸易区促进了北美的经济。

Běiměi Zìyóu Màoyì Qū cùjìnle Běiměizhōu de jīngjì.

The North American Free Trade Agreement promoted the economy of North America.

沙漠中的绿给了旅人希望。

Shāmò zhōng de lǜzhōu gěile lǚrén xīwàng.

The oasis in the desert gave the travelers hope.

际导弹的射程非常遥远。

Zhōujì dǎodàn de shèchéng fēichīng yáoyuǎn.

The range of an intercontinental ballistic missile is very far.