稀饭 (xī fàn) — rice porridge; congee | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

rice porridgecongee

Measure word · 碗

Examples

稀饭。
Wǒ měi tiān zǎo shàng hē yì wǎn xī fàn.
I have a bowl of congee every morning.
稀饭。
Zhè jiā diàn de xī fàn hěn hǎo hē.
The congee at this shop is very good.
稀饭，。
Mā ma zhǔ le xī fàn, hái jiā le táng.
Mom made congee and even added sugar.

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.

稀xīwatery

饭fàncooked grain

“稀” means watery and “饭” cooked grain, giving thin rice porridge.

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.

禾希稀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hégrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

希

Same sound today

稀 has 禾 (grain) beside 希, and 希 gives the character its sound.

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 飯; 饭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

食食shífood

Sound part声符shēngfú

反

反fǎn飯fàn

Same sound today

The traditional form 飯 combines 食 (food) with 反 for the sound; the simplified 饭 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical form.

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