hong kong
/ˌhɔŋˈkɔŋ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.21 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A city and special administrative region in southern China, located on an island east of the Pearl River delta in the South China Sea; a former British colony.
name
An island in southeastern China, Hong Kong Island, the site of the city of the same name, lying off Guangdong (Canton) province.
Example Sentences
- "CHINA. A rebellion of more than ordinary importance is in progress in this country. At the departure of the last mail from Hong Kong numerous bands of robbers were plundering and burning throughout the provinces of Kangsi and Canton, and, having captured the city of Kintschan, had advanced to within 120 English miles of Canton."
- "In 1962 a special law had to be passed to permit the immigration of several thousand Chinese refugees who had escaped from Communist China to Hong Kong."
- "The Chinese had promised to let Hong Kong keep its much more democratic political system, but I had the clear impression that the details of their reunion were still being worked out, and that neither side was fully satisfied with the present state of affairs."
- "A 90-year-old Roman Catholic cardinal, a singer and at least two others have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to endanger China’s national security, in an action widely condemned as a further sign of Beijing’s erosion of rights in the city."
- "Sampans and punts crowded the tight harbors of places like Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island, and these fisherfolk cooked up the day’s catch for their customers on the most minimal of stoves."
- "This two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom apartment is in the western section of Mid-Levels, an affluent residential area built into the northern slope of Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong."
Etymology
An irregular romanization of Cantonese 香港 (hoeng¹ gong², “incense harbor”), the former name of a settlement in what is now Aberdeen on the southwest side of Hong Kong Island, where joss stick incense was stored for export, made from agarwood.
Word Breakdown
- Root: 香港
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌhɔŋˈkɔŋ/
- British English: /ˌhɒŋˈkɒŋ/