红木 (hóng mù) — mahogany | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

mahogany

Examples

红木。
Wǒ nǎi nai yǒu yí tào hóng mù jiā jù.
My grandmother has a set of mahogany furniture.
红木。
Zhè zhāng zhuō zi shì hóng mù zuò de.
This table is made of mahogany.
红木。
hóng mù Shì yì zhǒng hěn guì de mù cái.
Mahogany is a very expensive wood.

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.

A 木 with 红 color, valued as mahogany.

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 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng紅hóng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

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

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.

Appears in

Materials & Substances

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