夜鹰 (yè yīng) — nightjar; nighthawk | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

nightjarnighthawk

Measure word · 只

Examples

夜鹰。
Zuó wǎn wǒ zài shān lǐ tīng jiàn yè yīng jiào le.
Last night I heard a nightjar calling in the mountains.
夜鹰。
yè yīng De yǔ máo yán sè hé shù pí hěn xiàng.
The nightjar's feather color is very similar to tree bark.
夜鹰。
Zhè cì lǚ xíng wǒ pāi dào le yì zhī yè yīng.
I managed to photograph a nighthawk on this trip.

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.

夜 “night” and 鹰 “hawk” name a hawk-like bird active at night.

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

夕夕xīmoon

Sound part声符shēngfú

亦

亦yì夜yè

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

The form 夜 pairs 亦 as a sound part with 夕 as a moon part, for night. In the modern shape, the 亦 part is broken up and one stroke merges into 夕.

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 鷹; 鹰 is its simplified writing.

䧹鳥鷹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

鳥鳥niǎobird

Sound part声符shēngfú

䧹

䧹䧹鷹yīng

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

The traditional form 鷹 combines 鳥 (bird) with 䧹, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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