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小伙 (xiǎo huǒ) — young guy, lad

Definition

noun
young guylad
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 小伙。
    Nà ge xiǎo huǒ hěn nǔ lì.
    That young guy works very hard.
  • 小伙。
    Zhè wèi xiǎo huǒ shì wǒ de péng you.
    This lad is my friend.
  • 小伙。
    Qǐng bāng yí xià nà ge xiǎo huǒ.
    Please help that young guy.

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.

小xiǎoyoung
伙huǒcompanion

小 means young and 伙 means companion, so together they picture a young companion or lad.

Characters in this word

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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 夥; 伙 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 伙 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (大伙儿, 伙) it is 夥; in others (小伙子) it is 伙.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
多多duō
Sound part声符shēngfú
果
果guǒ夥huǒ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 夥 combines 多 (many) with 果 as a sound part. The simplified 伙 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 伙 →
Appears in
Life Stages & AgePeople (General)

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