比勒陀利亚

比勒陀利亞

Bǐlètuólìyà

proper noun #34,297

Meanings

1 Pretoria, executive capital of South Africa

Characters

to compare (phonetic)

to rein in (phonetic)

spinning top (phonetic)

advantage (phonetic)

Asia; second (phonetic)

Examples

HSK 5

他刚从比勒陀利亚出差回来。

Tā gāng cóng Bǐlètuólìyà chūchāi huílái.

He just got back from a business trip to Pretoria.

HSK 7-9

比勒陀利亚是南非的行政首都。

Bǐlètuólìyà shì Nánfēi de xíngzhèng shǒudū.

Pretoria is the administrative capital of South Africa.

Tips

culture

South Africa famously has three capitals: 比勒陀利亚 (Pretoria, executive/government), 开普敦 (Cape Town, legislative), and 布隆方丹 (Bloemfontein, judicial). The city is known for its purple jacaranda trees and as a hub of the apartheid-era and post-apartheid government.

memory

Five syllables: 比 (bǐ) + 勒 (lè) + 陀 (tuó) + 利 (lì) + 亚 (yà) ≈ 'Bi-le-tuo-li-ya' → Pretoria. The 亚 ending closes most country/city transliterations (维多利亚 Victoria, 哥伦比亚 Colombia).

Stroke Order

比 bǐ

勒 lè

陀 tuó

利 lì

亚 Yà