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哺乳动物 (bǔ rǔ dòng wù) — mammals

Definition

noun
mammals

Examples

  • ，哺乳动物。
    Jīng yú suī rán shēng huó zài hǎi lǐ, dàn tā men shì bǔ rǔ dòng wù.
    Although whales live in the sea, they are mammals.
  • 哺乳动物。
    Māo hé gǒu dōu shì cháng jiàn de bǔ rǔ dòng wù.
    Cats and dogs are both common mammals.
  • 哺乳动物。
    Lǎo shī ràng wǒ men liè jǔ wǔ zhǒng bù tóng de bǔ rǔ dòng wù.
    The teacher asked us to list five different kinds of mammals.

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.

哺乳nurse
哺bǔfeed乳rǔmilk
动宾Verb + object
动物animal
动dòngmoving物wùcreature
偏正Modifier + head

哺 and 乳 refer to nursing milk, while 动 and 物 describe a moving creature, together naming mammals.

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kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
甫
甫fǔ哺bǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

哺 combines 口 (mouth) to show the meaning and 甫 to give the sound.

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

乳 originally drew a kneeling woman holding and breastfeeding a child, matching its meanings of breast and milk.

Open 乳 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 動; 动 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng動dòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 動 uses 力 (strength) and 重 as a sound part; 重 refers to a heavy bag ready to be moved by a human. This note is about 動, not 动.

Open 动 →

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
牛牛niú
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.

Open 物 →
Appears in
Animals & Mammals

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