水芹 (shuǐ qín) — water celery (Oenanthe javanica), a leafy green…

Definition

noun

water celery (Oenanthe javanica), a leafy green vegetable used in East Asian cuisine

Measure word · 把

水芹，。
Zhè dào cài lǐ jiā le shuǐ qín, wèi dào hěn qīng xiāng.
This dish has water celery added, and it tastes very fragrant.
水芹。
shuǐ qín Zài chūn tiān cháng dé zuì hǎo.
Water celery grows best in spring.
。
Mā ma yòng shuǐ qín zuò le yì wǎn tāng.
Mom made a bowl of soup with water celery.

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.

水芹 uses 水, water, with 芹, celery.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

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

艹斤芹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

斤

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

芹 has 艹 on top to show it is a plant, and 斤 below to give the sound.