海带 (hǎi dài) — kelp | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

kelp

Measure word · 条

海带，。
Wǒ mǎi le yì xiē hǎi dài, zhǔn bèi zuò tāng.
I bought some kelp and plan to make soup.
海带，。
hǎi dài Fù hán diǎn, duì jiǎ zhuàng xiàn jiàn kāng hěn yǒu hǎo chù.
Kelp is rich in iodine, which is very beneficial for thyroid health.
海带，。
Zhè dào liáng bàn hǎi dài fēi cháng shuǎng kǒu, xià tiān chī hěn hé shì.
This cold kelp salad is very refreshing, perfect for summer.

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 means sea and 带 means belt, naming kelp as a sea plant shaped like a belt.

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.

氵每海

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 帶; 带 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 帶 was drawn as a woven belt; the simplified 带 is a later shorthand.