莎 (shā) · (in transliteration) sha, as in foreign names, katydid

Meanings

1 (in transliteration) sha, as in foreign names
2 katydid

Characters

莎

shā

(transliteration) sha; katydid

Examples

HSK 7-9

莎士比亚是英国著名的剧作家。

Shāshìbǐyà shì Yīngguó zhùmíng de jùzuòjiā.

Shakespeare is a famous English playwright.

HSK 7-9

莎莉是我的室友。

Shālì shì wǒ de shìyǒu.

Sally is my roommate.

Tips

usage

莎 is most often a transliteration syllable in foreign names: 莎士比亚 (Shakespeare), 莎拉 (Sarah), 莎莉 (Sally).

register

When 莎 names the sedge / nutgrass plant it is read suō, only in the botanical word 莎草. Everywhere else, including all name transliterations, read shā.

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass (top form of 艸)

Grass radical on top, the indexing semantic. The character first named the nutgrass / sedge plant 莎草, a riverside grass. In modern Chinese 莎 mainly serves as a transliteration syllable in names like 莎士比亚, keeping the grass radical despite the loan use.

phonetic

沙 shā

sand (phonetic)

Bottom 沙 supplies the sound (shā for names, suō for the plant; the initial is preserved). 沙 is 氵 plus 少, the few grains left when water runs through, meaning sand. It also hints at the scene: a grass of sandy riverbeds, exactly where 莎草 thrives.