白鲸 (bái jīng) — beluga whale | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

beluga whale

Measure word · 条

Examples

白鲸。
bái jīng Shì yì zhǒng bái sè de jīng yú.
The beluga is a type of white whale.
白鲸。
Zhè zhǒng bái jīng fēi cháng kě ài.
This type of beluga is very cute.
白鲸。
Xiǎo péng yǒu men dōu xǐ huan kàn bái jīng biǎo yǎn.
Children all like to watch beluga shows.

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.

白 (white) describes 鲸 (whale), naming the white beluga.

Characters in this word

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

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 鯨; 鲸 is its simplified writing.

魚京鯨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

魚魚yúfish

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng鯨jīng

Same sound today

The traditional form 鯨 pairs 魚 (fish) with 京 for the sound; the simplified 鲸 keeps that same 京 sound part.

Appears in

Fish & Aquatic Life

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