昆虫学 (kūn chóng xué) — entomology | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

entomology

昆虫学。
Tā duì kūn chóng xué hěn gǎn xìng qù.
He is very interested in entomology.
昆虫学。
Zhè wèi jiào shòu shì kūn chóng xué zhuān jiā.
This professor is an entomology expert.
昆虫学。
Wǒ mǎi le yì běn guān yú kūn chóng xué de shū.
I bought a book about entomology.

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.

昆虫insects

偏正Modifier + head

昆 brings the sense of many to 虫, and 昆虫 names insects; 学 names the study of them.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

昆 is drawn from a picture of an insect’s body and legs.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蟲; 虫 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 蟲 is the one the reference discusses; 虫 is also a traditional character on its own.

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.