冰岛
Bīngdǎo
Iceland is translated into Chinese as 冰岛 (Bīngdǎo).
冰岛 is the name used for the country in Europe.
Meaning: country in Europe (name)
What does it mean word for word?
The name 冰岛 literally means 'Ice Island', consisting of 冰 (ice) and 岛 (island).
How do you pronounce it?
Bīngdǎo
Did you know?
- While many European countries have purely phonetic names in Chinese, 冰岛 is one of the few that uses descriptive, meaningful characters to create its name.
- The word 岛 (dǎo) used in 冰岛 is a character that has evolved from pictographic origins representing a small mound of land rising from the water.
- The word 冰岛 is a 'calque', which is a loan translation where each part of a foreign word is translated literally into the target language.
Examples in context
- 我计划下个月去冰岛旅行。I plan to travel to Iceland next month.
- 我想去冰岛旅游。Wǒ xiǎng qù Bīngdǎo lǚyóu.I want to travel to Iceland.
- 冰岛的气候很冷。Bīngdǎo de qìhòu hěn lěng.The climate in Iceland is very cold.
- 冰岛是一个美丽的国家。Bīngdǎo shì yígè měilì de guójiā.Iceland is a beautiful country.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their dream vacations.
- 浩然 Haoran你最想去哪个国家？Nǐ zuì xiǎng qù nǎge guójiā?Which country do you want to visit most?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我最想去冰岛看极光。Wǒ zuì xiǎng qù Bīngdǎo kàn jíguāng.I want to go to Iceland most to see the aurora.
- 浩然 Haoran听起来很浪漫。Tīng qǐlái hěn làngmàn.That sounds very romantic.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen希望明年能去！Xīwàng míngnián néng qù!I hope I can go next year!
