洋葱 (yáng cōng) — onion | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

onion

Measure word · 个

Examples

洋葱。
Wǒ qiè yáng cōng de shí hou liú yǎn lèi le.
I cry when I cut onions.
洋葱。
Zhè ge cài lǐ fàng le hěn duō yáng cōng.
This dish has a lot of onions.
洋葱。
Chǎo yáng cōng de shí hou yào zhù yì huǒ hou.
When stir-frying onions, pay attention to the heat.

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.

洋yángforeign

葱cōngscallion

洋 (foreign) specifies 葱 (scallion), giving the name for the foreign scallion, an onion.

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.

氵羊洋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

羊

羊yáng洋yáng

Same sound today

洋 pairs 氵, the water part, with 羊 to give its sound.

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

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

怱

怱cōng葱cōng

Same sound today

葱 pairs 艸, the grass sign, with 怱, which supplies the sound.

Appears in

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