狗肉 (gǒu ròu) — dog meat

Definition

Literal 'dog meat,' the meat of a dog used as food. Note that eating it is legal in some Chinese regions but highly controversial and declining due to animal-welfare concerns.

noun
dog meat
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 狗肉
    Zhè jiā cān guǎn yǐ gǒu ròu huǒ guō wén míng, dàn zhēng yì hěn dà.
    This restaurant is famous for its dog meat hotpot, but it's very controversial.
  • 狗肉
    Zài zhōng guó mǒu xiē dì qū, gǒu ròu bèi rèn wéi yǒu zī bǔ zuò yòng.
    In some regions of China, dog meat is believed to have nourishing properties.
  • 狗肉
    Suí zhe dòng wù bǎo hù yì shí de tí gāo, chī gǒu ròu de rén yuè lái yuè shǎo le.
    As animal protection awareness increases, fewer people eat dog meat.

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.

狗 means dog and 肉 means meat, together meaning dog meat.

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
quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
gǒu
Same sound today

狗 combines 犬, meaning dog, with 句, which gives the sound.

Open 狗 →

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

The original shape of 肉 showed ribs of an animal’s torso, or simply a slice of meat.

Open 肉 →
Appears in

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