繁星 (fán xīng) — myriad stars, star-filled sky | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

myriad starsstar-filled sky

Measure word · 颗

Examples

，繁星。
Yǎng wàng yè kōng, wǒ kàn dào le mǎn tiān fán xīng.
Looking up at the night sky, I saw a sky full of stars.
繁星，。
fán xīng Diǎn zhuì zhe shēn lán sè de tiān kōng, fēi cháng měi lì.
Countless stars dotted the deep blue sky, looking very beautiful.
繁星。
Wǒ men zài fán xīng xià xǔ xià le měi hǎo de xīn yuàn.
Under the starry sky, we made a beautiful wish.

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.

繁fánabundant

繁 (abundant) and 星 (stars) combine to mean a sky full of stars.

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.

敏糸繁

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

敏

敏mǐn繁fán

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

繁 pairs 敏, a sound part, with 糸, meaning silk.

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

晶晶jīngtwinkling stars
生生shēng

The top of 星 is a later simplified form of 晶, twinkling stars; the bottom 生 shows the sound.

Appears in

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