叫化子 (jiào huā zi) — beggar | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Colloquial, slightly old-fashioned word for 'beggar.' More literary than 乞丐.

noun

beggar

Measure word · 个

Easily confused

叫化子。
Nà ge jiào huā zi zài jiē shàng xiàng lù rén qǐ tǎo.
That beggar was begging from passersby on the street.
，叫化子。
Jiù shè huì lǐ, jiào huā zi de shēng huó fēi cháng jiān nán.
In the old society, a beggar's life was very hard.
叫化子。
Tā nián qīng shí céng dāng guò jiào huā zi.
When he was young, he once worked as a beggar.

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

叫化beggar

叫 and 化 together name a beggar, with 子 completing the form.

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.

口丩叫

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

丩

丩jiū叫jiào

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

叫 shows a mouth 口 and a sound part 丩. The mouth fits the old sense of shouting.

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.