海蛇 (hǎi shé) — sea snake

Definition

noun
sea snake
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 海蛇。
    hǎi shé Shì yì zhǒng yǒu dú de hǎi yáng dòng wù.
    Sea snakes are a type of venomous marine animal.
  • 海蛇。
    Qián shuǐ shí yào zhù yì hǎi shé.
    When diving, you need to watch out for sea snakes.
  • 海蛇。
    Wǒ zài diàn shì shàng kàn dào guò hǎi shé.
    I've seen sea snakes on TV.

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
蛇shésnake

海 'sea' and 蛇 'snake' combine to mean a snake of the sea.

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 →

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
虫虫chóng
Sound part声符shēngfú
它
它tā蛇shé
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

蛇 combines 虫 with 它; 它 gives the sound and was also the original form of this character.

Open 蛇 →

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