梨树 (lí shù) — pear tree | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

pear tree

Measure word · 棵

Examples

梨树。
Wǒ jiā hòu yuàn yǒu yì kē lí shù.
There is a pear tree in my backyard.
梨树。
Chūn tiān de lí shù kāi mǎn le bái sè de huā.
The pear trees in spring are full of white blossoms.
梨树。
Nóng mín zài tián lǐ zhǒng le hěn duō lí shù.
The farmer planted many pear trees in the field.

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.

梨 means pear and 树 means tree, so it is a pear 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.

利木梨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

利

利lì梨lí

Same sound today

梨 places 利 on top of 木, a tree, with 木 showing the tree sense and 利 giving the sound.

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.

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