地瓜 (dì guā) — sweet potato; yam bean | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

sweet potatoyam bean

Measure word · 个

地瓜。
Wǒ zuì xǐ huan chī kǎo dì guā.
I like eating baked sweet potatoes the most.
地瓜糯，。
Zhè zhǒng dì guā yòu tián yòu nuò, kǒu gǎn hěn hǎo.
This kind of sweet potato is sweet and sticky, with a great texture.
地瓜。
Tā mǎi le liǎng jīn dì guā zuò tāng.
He bought two jin of sweet potatoes to make soup.

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.

地 means earth, 瓜 means melon, so the word describes an earth-grown melon, a sweet potato.

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.

土也地

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

也

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

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

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

The shape of 瓜 is drawn from a melon hanging from its vines, which matches its meaning.