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干草 (gān cǎo) — hay

Definition

noun
hay
Measure word · 捆

Examples

  • 干草。
    Nóng chǎng lǐ duī mǎn le gān cǎo.
    The farm is piled with hay.
  • 干草。
    Mǎ xǐ huan chī gān cǎo.
    Horses like to eat hay.
  • 干草。
    Nóng mín yòng gān cǎo lái wèi niú.
    Farmers use hay to feed cows.

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.

干gāndry
草cǎograss

“干” is dry and “草” is grass, so the word means dried grass used as hay.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
早
早zǎo草cǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Open 草 →
Appears in
Agriculture & Farming

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