岛 (dǎo): island

Measure Word

一座岛 zuò

A bird 鸟 resting on a mountain 山.

Hǎinán dǎo shì Zhōngguó zuìdà de rèdài dǎoyǔ.

Hainan Island is China's largest tropical island.

Tāmen qù le yī gè měilì de xiǎo dǎo dùjià.

They went on vacation to a beautiful small island.

Zhè zuò dǎo shàng zhù zhe jǐ bǎi gè rén.

Several hundred people live on this island.

usage

岛 is often part of place names: 青岛 (Qīngdǎo), 海南岛, 台湾岛. 岛屿 (dǎo yǔ) is the more formal/written form meaning 'islands.' 半岛 (bàn dǎo) = peninsula.

culture

The traditional form 島 shows a bird 鳥 above a mountain 山 — a bird perched on a rocky island in the sea.

岛 dǎo