汤圆 (tāng yuán) — glutinous rice balls (a traditional Chinese des…

Definition

Glutinous rice balls with a sweet filling (sesame, peanut, red bean), boiled and served in syrup — the classic dessert of the Lantern Festival.

noun

glutinous rice balls (a traditional Chinese dessert often eaten during the Lantern Festival)

Measure word · 颗

汤圆。
Yuán xiāo jié jiā jiā hù hù dōu yào chī tāng yuán.
Every household eats tangyuan on the Lantern Festival.
汤圆。
Wǒ zuì xǐ huan chī hēi zhī ma tāng yuán.
I like black sesame tangyuan the most.
汤圆。
Chāo shì lǐ yǒu hěn duō bù tóng kǒu wèi de tāng yuán.
There are many different flavors of tangyuan in the supermarket.

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.

圆yuánround ball

Soup and round ball combine to name the glutinous balls served in sweet broth.

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 湯; 汤 is its simplified writing.

氵昜湯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

昜

昜yáng湯tāng

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

For 汤, the shape explained is 湯: 氵 is water, and 昜 gives 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 圓; 圆 is its simplified writing.

囗員圓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

囗囗wéi

Sound part声符shēngfú

員

員yuán圓yuán

Same sound today

This is about the traditional form 圓, not the simplified 圆. In 圓, 囗 surrounds 員, and the inner part of 員 is an old circle picture.

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