海参 (hǎi shēn) — sea cucumber (a marine animal often used in Chinese cuisine)

Definition

noun
sea cucumber (a marine animal often used in Chinese cuisine)
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 海参。
    Zhè dào cài yòng de shì shàng děng de hǎi shēn.
    This dish uses top-quality sea cucumber.
  • 海参，。
    hǎi shēn De yíng yǎng jià zhí hěn gāo, dàn jià gé yě bú pián yi.
    Sea cucumber has high nutritional value, but the price is not cheap.
  • 海参，。
    Tā dì yī cì chī hǎi shēn, jué de kǒu gǎn hěn tè bié.
    He ate sea cucumber for the first time and found the texture very unique.

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.

海hǎisea
参cānginseng

“海” means sea and specifies “参” ginseng, naming a sea animal like a ginseng.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi海hǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Open 海 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 參; 参 is its simplified writing.

For simplified 参, the story belongs to traditional 參, which combines 晶 (stars), 光 (light), and 彡 (rays) to show the Three Stars; one reading takes 光 as a kneeling person looking up.

Open 参 →

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