河马 (hé mǎ) — hippopotamus | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

hippopotamus

Measure word · 只

Examples

河马。
Dòng wù yuán lǐ de hé mǎ zhèng zài shuǐ lǐ xiū xi.
The hippopotamus at the zoo is resting in the water.
河马。
Zhè zhī hé mǎ tǐ xíng fēi cháng dà.
This hippopotamus is very large in size.
河马。
Fēi zhōu de hé liú zhōng cháng yǒu hé mǎ chū mò.
Hippopotamuses often appear in African rivers.

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.

河 means river and 马 means horse, naming the animal as a river horse.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

何

何hé河hé

Same sound today

河 pairs 水 (water) with 何, which gives the sound. The 水 part marks it as a word for a river.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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