红萝卜 (hóng luó bó) — carrot (regional, esp. southern China and Taiwan); red-skinned radish (regional, esp. northern China)

Definition

Lit. 'red turnip/radish' — in mainland China it usually means carrot (the orange root), while in northern speech and Taiwan it often means a red-skinned radish (similar to daikon). When in doubt, say 胡萝卜 for carrot or 水萝卜 for the radish.

noun
carrot (regional, esp. southern China and Taiwan)red-skinned radish (regional, esp. northern China)
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 红萝卜。
    Mā ma yòng hóng luó bó zuò le tāng.
    Mom made soup with carrots.
  • 红萝卜，。
    Zhè zhǒng hóng luó bó shì hóng sè de, hěn cuì.
    This kind of radish is red and very crisp.
  • 红萝卜。
    Wǒ mǎi le sān jīn hóng luó bó.
    I bought three jin of carrots.

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hóngred
萝卜radish
萝luó卜bǔ
联绵Bound pair

红萝卜 names a red kind of 萝卜: 红 gives the color, and 萝卜 is the radish-like plant.

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 蘿; 萝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
羅
羅luó蘿luó
Same sound today

The traditional form 蘿 combines 艸 (plants) with 羅, which shows the pronunciation; the simplified 萝 is a later shorthand.

Open 萝 →

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

卜 is thought to come from the shape of a crack in an oracle bone, which was used for predicting the future.

Open 卜 →

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