红树林 (hóng shù lín) — mangrove forest

Definition

noun
mangrove forest
Measure word · 片

Examples

  • 红树林。
    Zhè piàn hóng shù lín shì xǔ duō niǎo lèi de qī xī dì.
    This mangrove forest is a habitat for many birds.
  • 红树林。
    hóng shù lín Néng yǒu xiào bǎo hù hǎi àn xiàn bú bèi qīn shí.
    Mangrove forests can effectively protect coastlines from erosion.
  • 红树林。
    Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū hóng shù lín duì qì hòu biàn huà de yǐng xiǎng.
    Scientists are studying the impact of mangrove forests on climate change.

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.

红树red tree
红hóngred树shùtree
偏正Modifier + head
林línforest

红 means red, 树 means tree, and 林 means forest: a forest of red mangrove trees.

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.

Open 红 →

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 樹; 树 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
尌
尌shù樹shù
Same sound today

Originally 尌, 'to plant a tree', was written alone; the traditional form 樹 adds 木, 'tree', to it to differentiate.

Open 树 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

林 is made of two 木 (tree) placed side by side, showing many trees together, hence a forest.

Open 林 →

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