仙人球 (xiān rén qiú) — a cactus with globular or elliptic stems

Definition

noun
a cactus with globular or elliptic stems
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 仙人球。
    Zhè pén xiān rén qiú fàng zài kè tīng lǐ hěn hǎo kàn.
    This potted barrel cactus looks great in the living room.
  • 仙人球。
    Wǒ mǎi le yí gè xiǎo xiān rén qiú zhǒng zài yáng tái shàng.
    I bought a small barrel cactus and planted it on the balcony.
  • 仙人球，。
    xiān rén qiú Bù xū yào jīng cháng jiāo shuǐ, hěn hǎo yǎng.
    Barrel cacti don't need frequent watering and are easy to care for.

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.

仙人immortal person
仙xiānimmortal人rénperson
偏正Modifier + head
球qiúball

The '仙人' idea of a fairy-like plant and the '球' idea of a rounded shape together name a globe-shaped cactus.

Characters in this word

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

仙 pairs 亻 (person) with 山 (mountain), showing a person moving into a mountain to become immortal; 山 also gives the sound.

Open 仙 →

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 →

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
求
求qiú球qiú
Same sound today

球 is built from 玉, meaning jade, and 求, which gives the sound.

Open 球 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.