composed of in- 'in', busta 'envelope', -are (verbal suffix), with the meaning 'to put into an envelope'. Compound adpositions Compound prepositions formed by prepositions and nouns are common in English and the Romance languages (consider English on top of, Spanish encima de, etc.). Hindi has a small number of simple (i.e., one-word) postpositions and a large number of compound postpositions, mostly consisting of simple postposition ke followed by a specific postposition (e.g., ke pas, "near"; ke nīche, "underneath"). Examples from different languages Chinese (traditional/simplified Chinese; Standard Chinese Pinyin/Cantonese Jyutping): 學生/学生 'student': 學 xué/hok6 learn + 生 shēng/sang1 living being 太空/太空 'space': 太 tài/taai3 great + 空 kōng/hung1 emptiness 摩天樓/摩天楼 'skyscraper': 摩 mó/mo1 touch + 天 tiān/tin1 sky + 樓 lóu/lau2 building (with more than 1 storey) 打印機/打印机 'printer': 打 dǎ/daa2 strike + 印 yìn/yan3 stamp/print + 機 jī/gei1 machine 百科全書/百科全书 'encyclopaedia': 百 bǎi/baak3 hundred + 科 kē/fo1 (branch of) study + 全 quán/cyun4 entire/complete + 書 shū/syu1 book 謝謝/谢谢 'thanks': Repeating of 謝 xiè thank Dutch: 'disability insurance': 'labour' + 'inaptitude' + 'insurance'. 'sewage treatment plant': 'sewer' + water 'water' + 'cleaning' + 'installation'. 'birthday calendar': 'birthday' + 'calendar'. 'customer service representative': 'customers' + 'service' + 'worker'. 'university library': 'university' + 'library'. 'possibilities for advancement': 'through' + 'grow' + 'possibilities'. Finnish: 'dictionary': 'word' + 'book' 'computer': 'knowledge data' + 'machine' 'Wednesday': 'middle' + 'week' 'world': 'land' + 'air' 'railway station': 'iron' + 'road' + 'station' 'electricity meter': 'three-phase kilowatt hour meter' German: 'skyscraper': 'clouds' + 'scraper' 'railway': 'iron' + 'track' 'automobile': 'power' + 'drive' + 'machinery' 'barbed wire': 'barb/barbed' + 'wire' : literally cattle-marking- and beef-labeling-supervision-duties-delegation law Ancient Greek: philosopher: φίλος phílos 'beloved' + σοφία sophíā 'wisdom' dēmokratíā 'democracy': δῆμος dêmos 'people' + κράτος 'rule' rhododáktylos 'rose-fingered': ῥόδον rhódon 'rose' + δάκτυλος dáktylos 'finger' (a Homeric epithet applied to the Dawn) Icelandic: 'railway': 'iron' + 'path' or 'way' 'vehicle': farar 'journey' + tæki 'apparatus' 'encyclopedia': 'everything' + 'study' or 'knowledge' + 'dictionary' ( 'words' + 'book') 'telephone conversation': sím 'telephone' + tal 'dialogue' Italian: 'centipede': 'thousand' + 'feet' 'railway': 'iron' + 'way' 'windscreen wiper': 'to wash' + 'crystal (pane of) glass' pomodoro: pomo d'oro = apple of Gold = tomatoes portacenere = porta cenere = ashtray Japanese: 目覚まし（時計） 'alarm clock': 目 me 'eye' + 覚まし samashi (-zamashi) 'awakening (someone)' (+ 時計 tokei (-dokei) clock) お好み焼き okonomiyaki: お好み okonomi 'preference' + 焼き yaki 'cooking' 日帰り higaeri 'day trip': 日 hi 'day'