稻谷 (dào gǔ) — unhulled rice; paddy (rice still in the husk) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

unhulled ricepaddy (rice still in the husk)

Measure word · 颗

Examples

稻谷。
Nóng mín zài tián lǐ shōu gē dào gǔ.
Farmers are harvesting paddy in the fields.
稻谷。
Zhè xiē dào gǔ hái méi yǒu tuō ké.
This paddy has not been husked yet.
稻谷。
Jīn nián dào gǔ de shōu cheng hěn hǎo.
This year's paddy harvest is very good.

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.

谷gǔgrain; husk

The 谷 of 稻 is rice grain still in its husk.

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.

禾舀稻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hégrain, cereal, rice

Sound part声符shēngfú

舀

舀yǎo稻dào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

稻 uses 禾, the grain plant, to show its meaning, and 舀 for its sound.

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

The shape of 谷 comes from a picture of a valley: an opening between two near-parallel lines for mountain walls.

Appears in

HSK 2.0 Level 6

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