树懒 (shù lǎn) — sloth | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

sloth

Measure word · 只

树懒。
shù lǎn Shì yì zhǒng hěn màn de dòng wù.
A sloth is a very slow animal.
树懒。
Wǒ zài dòng wù yuán kàn dào le yì zhī shù lǎn.
I saw a sloth at the zoo.
树懒。
Nà zhī shù lǎn zhèng zài shù shàng shuì jiào.
That sloth is sleeping in the tree.

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.

树 points to tree-dwelling and 懒 gives the lazy character of the sloth.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樹; 树 is its simplified writing.

木尌樹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

尌

尌shù樹shù

Same sound today

Originally 尌, 'to plant a tree', was written alone; the traditional form 樹 adds 木, 'tree', to it to differentiate.

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 懶; 懒 is its simplified writing.

忄賴懶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

賴

賴lài懶lǎn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 懶 pairs 忄 (heart) with 賴, which gives the sound; the simplified 懒 is a later shorthand.