梅花 (méi huā) — plum blossom; clubs (♣ in card games) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'plum blossom' — also the name of the clubs suit (♣) in a deck of playing cards.

noun

plum blossomclubs (♣ in card games)

Measure word · 朵

Examples

梅花，。
Gōng yuán lǐ de méi huā kāi le, hěn duō rén qù pāi zhào.
The plum blossoms in the park have bloomed, and many people are going to take photos.
，梅花。
Dǎ pái shí, tā shǒu lǐ yǒu sān zhāng méi huā.
When playing cards, he had three clubs in his hand.
梅花，。
Zhè jiàn yī fu shàng xiù zhe méi huā tú àn, fēi cháng hǎo kàn.
This piece of clothing has plum blossom patterns embroidered on it; it's very beautiful.

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.

梅 plum and 花 flower combine to name the flower of the plum tree.

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.

木每梅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

每měi梅méi

Same sound today

梅 is built from 木 (tree) and 每, which gives the sound; it is used for the plum tree.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Plants & Flowers

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