种花 (zhòng huā) — to grow flowers; to plant flowers; (colloquial,… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

种花 (zhòng huā) means 'to grow/plant flowers.' The colloquial 'vaccinate' sense (种痘/种花 against smallpox) is rare and historical.

verb

to grow flowersto plant flowers(colloquial, regional) to vaccinate (against smallpox)

Examples

种花。
Tā xǐ huan zài yuàn zi lǐ zhòng huā.
He likes to grow flowers in the yard.
，。
Wǒ zhǒng le yì nián de huā, zhōng yú kàn dào chéng guǒ le.
I grew flowers for a whole year and finally saw results.
，。
Nǎi nai xiǎo shí hou zhǒng guò huā, suǒ yǐ bú huì dé tiān huā.
Grandma was vaccinated (against smallpox) as a child, so she won't get smallpox.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

The 种 plant action and 花 flowers together mean to plant flowers.

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.

禾中种

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hérice

Sound part声符shēngfú

中

中zhōng种zhǒng

Same sound today

种 pairs 禾, which shows rice or grain and fits meanings like plant and seed, with 中, which gives its sound.

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

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

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

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