百花 (bǎi huā) — (literary) many flowers; a hundred flowers; (art) millefleur pattern

Definition

Literary phrase for 'a hundred flowers' — a fixed image of abundant blooms used in poetry, idioms (百花齐放), and art terms like the millefleur pattern (百花图案).

noun
(literary) many flowersa hundred flowers(art) millefleur pattern

Examples

  • ，百花，。
    Chūn tiān dào le, bǎi huā shèng kāi, měi bú shèng shōu.
    Spring has arrived; a hundred flowers are in full bloom — it's too beautiful to take in.
  • 百花。
    Zhè fú huà shàng de bǎi huā tú àn fēi cháng jīng zhì.
    The millefleur pattern in this painting is very exquisite.
  • 百花。
    bǎi huā Qí fàng de jǐng xiàng lìng rén táo zuì.
    The scene of a hundred flowers blooming together is intoxicating.

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.

百bǎihundred/many
花huāflower

'百' means many, and '花' means flowers, giving a many-flower design.

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
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
化
化huà花
Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Open 花 →

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