莎

shā, suō

沙 + 艹

Definitions

shā (particle) phonetic sha (used in transliteration)

suō (noun) type of sedge grass

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 沙 represents the sound.

Semantic: 艹 Phonetic: 沙

About

莎 is a phono-semantic compound: 艹 (grass) indicates a plant, and 沙 (sand) provides the pronunciation. Originally it referred to a perennial sedge or nutgrass that grows in wet environments. Today the character's main function is transcribing the 'sha' sound in foreign names, especially Western female names.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

莎莎是我的妹妹。

Shā shā shì wǒ de mèi mei.

Shasha is my younger sister.

莎莎今天很高兴。

Shā shā jīn tiān hěn gāo xìng.

Shasha is very happy today.

我喜欢莎士比亚的戏剧。

Wǒ xǐ huān Shā shì bǐ yǎ de xì jù.

I like Shakespeare's plays.

莎拉是一位著名的歌手。

Shā lā shì yī wèi zhù míng de gē shǒu.

Sarah is a famous singer.

河边的莎草很茂盛。

Hé biān de suō cǎo hěn mào shèng.

The sedges by the river are very lush.

莎翁的作品影响深远。

Shā wēng de zuò pǐn yǐng xiǎng shēn yuǎn.

Shakespeare's works have a profound influence.

在图书馆里我找到了一本关于莎草植物的书。

Zài tú shū guǎn lǐ wǒ zhǎo dào le yī běn guān yú suō cǎo zhí wù de shū.

In the library I found a book about sedge plants.

尽管莎莎遇到了困难但她仍然坚持学习。

Jǐn guǎn shā shā yù dào le kùn nán dàn tā réng rán jiān chí xué xí.

Although Shasha encountered difficulties she still persisted in studying.

Related Characters

Component: 沙

Component: 艹

莎