毛驴 (máo lǘ) — donkey

Definition

noun
donkey
Measure word · 头

Examples

  • 毛驴。
    Zhè zhī máo lǘ hěn tīng huà.
    This donkey is very obedient.
  • 毛驴。
    Nóng mín yòng máo lǘ lái yùn dōng xī.
    Farmers use donkeys to carry things.
  • 。
    Xiǎo máo lǘ zài cǎo dì shàng chī cǎo.
    The little donkey is eating grass on the meadow.

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.

毛máohair
驴lǘdonkey

毛 refers to the animal's hair, and 驴 names the donkey, giving the common word for donkey.

Characters in this word

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

毛 is drawn as a feather or hair, with its strokes tracing the shape of the feather or hair.

Open 毛 →

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 驢; 驴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
盧
盧lú驢lǘ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 驢 uses 馬 (horse) to show the meaning and 盧 to give the sound; the simplified 驴 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not original.

Open 驴 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.