石楠 (shí nán) — Chinese photinia (Photinia serratifolia) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Chinese photinia (Photinia serratifolia)

Measure word · 棵

Examples

石楠。
shí nán Shì yì zhǒng cháng lǜ guàn mù.
The Chinese photinia is an evergreen shrub.
石楠。
Qiū tiān de shí nán yè zǐ huì biàn chéng hóng sè.
In autumn, the leaves of the Chinese photinia turn red.
石楠。
Gōng yuán lǐ zhǒng le hěn duō shí nán.
The park has planted many Chinese photinias.

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.

楠nána kind of tree

石 means stone and 楠 names a kind of tree, so 石楠 is a woody plant associated with stone.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

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

木南楠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùwood; tree

Sound part声符shēngfú

南

Same sound today

楠 joins 木 (wood; tree) with 南, which gives the sound.

Appears in

Plants & Flowers

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