圣尼古拉斯

聖尼古拉斯

Shèng Nígǔlāsī

proper noun #34,242

Meanings

1 Saint Nicholas (4th-century bishop of Myra, historical basis for Santa Claus)
2 St. Nicholas (place name, e.g. cities/parishes in Europe)

Characters

Buddhist nun (used phonetically)

ancient (used phonetically)

to pull (used phonetically)

this (classical); used phonetically

Examples

HSK 3

孩子们听着圣尼古拉斯的故事。

Háizi men tīng zhe Shèng Nígǔlāsī de gùshi.

The children are listening to the story of Saint Nicholas.

HSK 7-9

圣尼古拉斯是圣诞老人的原型。

Shèng Nígǔlāsī shì Shèngdàn lǎorén de yuánxíng.

Saint Nicholas is the prototype of Santa Claus.

Tips

culture

Saint Nicholas of Myra (c. 270-343 CE) was a Greek bishop in modern-day Turkey, famous for secret gift-giving - the legend that grew into 圣诞老人 (Santa Claus) via Dutch 'Sinterklaas' and English 'Santa Claus'. In Chinese, 圣 (saint/holy) prefixes the transliterated name, just like 圣保罗 (Saint Paul) and 圣彼得 (Saint Peter).

memory

圣 (saint) + 尼古拉斯 (Ní-gǔ-lā-sī ≈ Nicholas). The 圣 prefix is the Chinese pattern for canonized Christian saints and place names derived from them.

Stroke Order

圣 shèng

尼 ní

古 gǔ

拉 lā

斯 sī