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信天翁 (xìn tiān wēng) — albatross

Definition

noun
albatross
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 信天翁，。
    xìn tiān wēng Shì yì zhǒng dà xíng hǎi niǎo, yì zhǎn hěn kuān.
    The albatross is a large seabird with a very wide wingspan.
  • 信天翁。
    Wǒ men zài nán tài píng yáng háng xíng shí kàn dào le yì qún xìn tiān wēng.
    We saw a flock of albatrosses while sailing in the South Pacific.
  • 信天翁，。
    Zhè zhǒng xìn tiān wēng de yǔ máo jié bái rú xuě, fēi cháng měi lì.
    This species of albatross has snow-white feathers and is very beautiful.

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.

信天soaring over the sky
信xìntrusting天tiānsky
动宾Verb + object
翁wēngold man

The name pictures an albatross as a stately bird of the open sky, with 信天 suggesting its long, effortless flight and 翁 its old-man-like air.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánwords
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén信xìn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

信 pairs 人 as the sound part with 言 (words) as the meaning part.

Open 信 →

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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
羽羽yǔwings
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng翁wēng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

翁 combines 羽 (wings) with 公, which gives the sound. Its shape originally pointed to feathers, and it later came to be used for “old man” and related senses.

Open 翁 →
Appears in
Birds

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