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播种 (bō zhǒng) — to sow seeds; (figurative) to plant (seeds of hope, etc.)

Definition

播种 (bōzhǒng) is the formal, written word for 'sowing seeds,' focused on scattering seeds in a field. Compared to the everyday 种 (zhòng, 'to plant/grow'), 播种 emphasizes the sowing step, not raising the crop.

verb
to sow seeds(figurative) to plant (seeds of hope, etc.)

Examples

  • 播种。
    Nóng mín zài chūn tiān bō zhǒng yù mǐ.
    Farmers sow corn in spring.
  • 播种。
    Wǒ men yào bō zhǒng xī wàng.
    We want to sow hope.
  • 播种。
    Lǎo shī gěi xué shēng bō zhǒng zhī shi.
    The teacher sows knowledge for students.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

播bōsow
种zhǒngseed

The hanzi "播" means sow and "种" means seed, so together they express planting by seed.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
番
番fān播bō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

播 is built from 扌, a hand radical, plus 番 as a sound part. The hand part marks it as something done by hand.

Open 播 →

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
禾禾hérice
Sound part声符shēngfú
中
中zhōng种zhǒng
Same sound today

种 pairs 禾, which shows rice or grain and fits meanings like plant and seed, with 中, which gives its sound.

Open 种 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Agriculture & Farming

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