甘蔗 (gān zhè) — sugarcane | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

sugarcane

Measure word · 节

甘蔗，。
Zhè gēn gān zhè hěn tián, nǐ cháng cháng.
This stalk of sugarcane is very sweet; have a taste.
甘蔗。
Nóng mín zài tián lǐ zhǒng le hěn duō gān zhè.
The farmers planted a lot of sugarcane in the fields.
甘蔗。
gān zhè Zhà chū de zhī kě yǐ zuò chéng táng.
The juice squeezed from sugarcane can be made into sugar.

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.

蔗zhècane

"甘" sweet and "蔗" cane combine to name the sweet cane plant.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

甘 originally drew an open mouth with something sweet inside it. This gives the sense of sweet or pleasant.

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

艹庶蔗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

庶

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

蔗 pairs 艹, a plant sign, with 庶, which gives the sound.

Appears in