猎物 (liè wù) — prey; quarry | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An animal being hunted — the object of a hunt. Pairs naturally with 猎人 ('hunter'), the person who hunts it; also used metaphorically, as in business rivals becoming 'prey'.

noun

preyquarry

Measure word · 个

Examples

猎物。
Láng qún zhèng zài wéi bǔ tā men de liè wù.
The wolf pack is encircling their prey.
，猎物。
Zài shāng chǎng shàng, xiǎo gōng sī wǎng wǎng chéng wéi dà gōng sī de liè wù.
In the business world, small companies often become prey for large ones.
猎物。
Zhè zhī yīng cóng gāo kōng fǔ chōng xià lái zhuā zhù le liè wù.
The eagle swooped down from high altitude and caught its prey.

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.

猎 means hunt and 物 means thing, giving the thing hunted, i.e. prey.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

昔

昔xī猎liè

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

In 猎, the left part 犬 means dog and the right part 昔 provides the sound.

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

牛勿物

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

勿

勿wù物wù

Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Animals & Mammals Outdoor Recreation

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