烤鸭 (kǎo yā) — (noun) roast duck; Peking duck; (verb-object) t… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

烤鸭 (kǎoyā) is a verb-object word meaning both 'roast duck' (the dish, especially Peking duck) and the action 'to roast a duck' — famous as a Beijing specialty.

noun

roast duckPeking duck

verb

(verb-object) to roast duck

Measure word · 只

Examples

烤鸭。
Wǒ men yì qǐ qù chī kǎo yā ba.
Let's go eat roast duck together.
烤鸭。
kǎo yā Shì běi jīng de tè sè cài zhī yī.
Roast duck is one of Beijing's specialty dishes.
，。
Tā kǎo le yì zhī yā, xiāng wèi pū bí.
He roasted a duck, and the aroma was overwhelming.

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.

烤 (roast) describes 鸭 (duck), giving roast duck.

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.

火考烤

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

考

考kǎo烤kǎo

Same sound today

烤 pairs 火 (fire) with 考, which supplies the sound; the fire part is used because the meaning involves heat or roasting.

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 鴨; 鸭 is its simplified writing.

甲鳥鴨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

鳥鳥niǎobird

Sound part声符shēngfú

甲

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

The traditional form 鴨 uses 甲 for its sound and 鳥 for bird; the simplified 鸭 is a shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 2.0 Level 5 Cooking Meat & Seafood

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