灌木丛 (guàn mù cóng) — bush, shrub | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

bushshrub

Measure word · 丛

Examples

灌木丛。
Gōng yuán lǐ yǒu yí piàn guàn mù cóng.
There is a patch of bushes in the park.
灌木丛。
Xiǎo tù zi duǒ jìn le guàn mù cóng lǐ.
The little rabbit hid into the bush.
灌木丛。
Zhè tiáo lù páng biān zhǎng mǎn le guàn mù cóng.
This road is overgrown with bushes on the side.

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.

灌木shrub

灌guànbushy木mùtree

偏正Modifier + head

丛cóngcluster

'灌木' names a bushy tree and '丛' names a cluster, so the word means a bush or shrub.

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

雚

雚guàn灌guàn

Same sound today

灌 pairs its water part with 雚, which gives the character its sound.

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

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 叢; 丛 is its simplified writing.

丵取叢

Meaning part形符xíngfú

丵丵zhuó

Sound part声符shēngfú

取

取qǔ叢cóng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 叢 for 丛 combines 丵 with 取, where 取 gives the sound.

Appears in

Plants & Flowers

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