类人猿 (lèi rén yuán) — anthropoid ape

Definition

Category name for great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, etc.) — tailless primates close to humans, used in scientific and textbook writing rather than everyday speech.

noun
anthropoid ape
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 类人猿。
    lèi rén yuán Yǔ rén lèi yǒu xiāng sì de jī yīn.
    Anthropoid apes have similar genes to humans.
  • 类人猿。
    Zhè zhǒng lèi rén yuán shēng huó zài rè dài yǔ lín lǐ.
    This species of anthropoid ape lives in tropical rainforests.
  • 类人猿。
    lèi rén yuán De zhì lì bǐ yì bān dòng wù gāo hěn duō.
    The intelligence of anthropoid apes is much higher than that of ordinary animals.

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.

类人human-like
类lèiresembling人rénhuman
动宾Verb + object
猿yuánape

类 'resembling' 人 'human' and 猿 'ape' combine for 'anthropoid ape'.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 類; 类 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
頪
頪lèi類lèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 類 pairs 犬, which relates to the meaning, with 頪, which gives the sound. The simplified 类 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 类 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
袁
袁yuán猿yuán
Same sound today

The left part 犭, written in full as 犬, shows an animal; the right part 袁 gives the sound.

Open 猿 →

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