下蛋 (xià dàn) — to lay eggs | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

下蛋 (xià dàn) means 'to lay eggs' — used specifically for birds, chickens, and other egg-laying animals.

verb

to lay eggs

Examples

下蛋。
Zhè zhī jī zhèng zài wō lǐ xià dàn.
This chicken is laying eggs in the nest.
。
Tā zuó tiān xià le liǎng gè dàn.
It laid two eggs yesterday.
下蛋。
Niǎo měi nián chūn tiān zài shù shàng xià dàn.
Birds lay eggs in trees every spring.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

下 means to lay, 蛋 is an egg; together lay eggs.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

虫虫chóngsnake, insect

Sound part声符shēngfú

延

延yán蛋dàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 蛋, the lower part 虫 is a snake or insect, and the upper part is a shortened 延 giving the sound for 'egg'.

Appears in

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