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叶子 (yè zi) — leaf; (slang) marijuana

Definition

叶子 (yèzi) means 'leaf' — the flat green part of a plant. Measured with 片; don't confuse the homophone 页 (yè), the page classifier, or 茶叶 ('tea leaves').

noun
leaf(slang) marijuana
Measure word · 片

Examples

  • 叶子。
    Shù shàng de yè zi dōu biàn chéng le huáng sè.
    The leaves on the tree have all turned yellow.
  • 叶子。
    Yí piàn yè zi cóng shù shàng luò xià lái.
    A leaf fell from the tree.
  • 叶子。
    Zhè piàn yè zi de yán sè hěn piào liang.
    The color of this leaf is very pretty.

Origin

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.

叶yèleaf
子zǐ

叶 (leaf) plus 子 gives the everyday word for a leaf.

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
十
十shí叶yè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 叶 pairs 口 (mouth) with 十 (ten) as an old form meaning cooperate; it later came to mean leaf because it sounded similar.

Open 叶 →

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.

Open 子 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Plants & Flowers

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