白鹭 (bái lù) — egret, heron (a type of white wading bird)

Definition

noun
egretheron (a type of white wading bird)
Measure word · 只
Easily confused

Examples

  • 白鹭。
    bái lù Shì yì zhǒng fēi cháng yōu yǎ de niǎo.
    The egret is a very elegant bird.
  • 白鹭。
    Wǒ men zài hú biān kàn dào le yì zhī bái lù.
    We saw an egret by the lake.
  • 白鹭。
    bái lù De yǔ máo shì bái sè de.
    The egret's feathers are white.

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báiwhite
鹭lùegret

From 白 and 鹭: a white egret or heron.

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.

Open 白 →

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 鷺; 鹭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鳥鳥niǎobird
Sound part声符shēngfú
路
路lù鷺lù
Same sound today

The traditional form 鷺 has 鳥, a bird, and 路 for the sound; the simplified 鹭 is a later shorthand.

Open 鹭 →

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