About
The character 匈 initially served as a pictographic representation of the human chest, a meaning now entirely assumed by the compound character 胸. Its construction combines the enveloping radical 勹 with the component 凶, which historically offered phonetic value. The independent semantic function of 匈 gradually diminished, and it ceased to be used alone to denote the body part. Consequently, its application narrowed exclusively to functioning as a building block in lexical compounds, most persistently in the historical ethnonym 匈奴 for a Central Asian confederation and, by later extension, in the geographical name 匈牙利. This trajectory illustrates a shift from a concrete noun to a bound morpheme retained only in fixed proper nouns.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
匈牙利在欧洲。
我朋友去过匈牙利。
匈牙利首都是布达佩斯。
匈奴是古代游牧民族。
这本书讲述匈奴历史。
匈牙利语很难学习。
历史上匈奴常侵扰边境。
我对匈牙利经济很了解。