小麦 (xiǎo mài) — wheat | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

小麦 is a specific grain — wheat — the plant and its seeds. 粮食 is the broader category of staple food grains (rice, wheat, corn, etc.).

noun

wheat

Measure word · 粒

小麦。
Nóng mín zài tián lǐ zhǒng le hěn duō xiǎo mài.
The farmers planted a lot of wheat in the fields.
小麦。
xiǎo mài Kě yǐ mó chéng miàn fěn zuò miàn tiáo.
Wheat can be ground into flour to make noodles.
小麦。
Jīn nián xiǎo mài de jià gé bǐ qù nián gāo.
This year's wheat price is higher than last year's.

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 “small” and 麦 “wheat” combine for the common wheat crop.

Characters in this word

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

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.

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 麥; 麦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

夊夊suīfootprint pointing down; to walk slowly

Sound part声符shēngfú

來

來lái麥mài

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 麦, the traditional form 麥 pairs 來, which gives the sound and once meant wheat, with 夊, a footprint pointing down for slow walking.

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