作物 (zuò wù) — crop | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A general term for cultivated crops as a category (品种、类型). Compare 庄稼 (crops physically in the field) and 农产品 (processed agricultural products).

noun

crop

Measure word · 种

Examples

作物。
Jīn nián zuò wù de shōu cheng bǐ qù nián hǎo.
This year's crop harvest is better than last year's.
作物。
Zhè zhǒng zuò wù shì hé zài wēn nuǎn shī rùn de qì hòu zhōng shēng zhǎng.
This type of crop is suitable for growing in warm and humid climates.
作物。
Nóng mín men zhèng zài yán jiū rú hé tí gāo zuò wù de kàng bìng néng lì.
The farmers are researching how to improve the disease resistance of crops.

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.

作zuòcultivated

物wùthings

“作” (cultivated) and “物” (things) name plants grown for food.

Characters in this word

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

亻乍作

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

乍

乍zhà作zuò

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

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

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

牛勿物

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

勿

勿wù物wù

Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Agriculture & Farming

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