冰岛 (Bīngdǎo): Iceland (island country in the…

Meanings

Literally 'ice island' — a direct translation of 'Iceland.' One of the few country names that is a meaning translation rather than phonetic.

Bīngdǎo yǒu hěn duō wēnquán hé huǒshān.

Iceland has many hot springs and volcanoes.

Bīngdǎo de rénkǒu bú dào sìshí wàn.

Iceland's population is less than 400,000.

memory

冰岛 is a direct translation: 冰 (ice) + 岛 (island) = Iceland. Compare with 格陵兰 (Greenland) which is phonetic, not translated.

冰 bīng

岛 dǎo