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人参 (rén shēn) — ginseng

Definition

noun
ginseng
Measure word · 棵

Examples

  • 人参。
    rén shēn Shì yì zhǒng hěn hǎo de zī bǔ pǐn.
    Ginseng is a very good tonic.
  • 。
    Mā ma yòng rén shēn dùn le yì guō jī tāng.
    Mom stewed a pot of chicken soup with ginseng.
  • 人参。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì gēn rén shēn pào chá hē.
    I bought a ginseng root to brew tea with.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

人rénhuman
参cānginseng

人 (human) modifies 参 (ginseng), referring to the root's human-like shape.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 參; 参 is its simplified writing.

For simplified 参, the story belongs to traditional 參, which combines 晶 (stars), 光 (light), and 彡 (rays) to show the Three Stars; one reading takes 光 as a kneeling person looking up.

Open 参 →
Appears in
Traditional Medicine & Philosophy

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