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 form '州', which originally depicted a small island or land within a river and later acquired administrative connotations. By incorporating the water radical '氵', the character '洲' was formed as a phono-semantic compound where the radical conveys its inherent association with aquatic environments while '州' primarily indicates sound. Over centuries, its semantic scope expanded from specifically indicating river islets or sandbars to encompassing larger geographical entities such as continents, reflecting an adaptive shift in usage while retaining the foundational idea of land masses defined by their relationship to water.

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.