红薯 (hóng shǔ) — sweet potato | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

红薯 is the everyday northern Chinese word for 'sweet potato.' It contrasts with 土豆 (potato) and is unrelated to 西红柿 (tomato) despite sharing 红.

noun

sweet potato

Measure word · 个

Examples

红薯。
Wǒ zài shì chǎng mǎi le yì xiē hóng shǔ.
I bought some sweet potatoes at the market.
红薯，。
hóng shǔ Fēi cháng yǒu yíng yǎng, duì shēn tǐ hǎo.
Sweet potatoes are very nutritious and good for your health.
红薯。
Wǒ zuì xǐ huan de tián diǎn shì hóng shǔ tāng.
My favorite dessert is sweet potato soup.

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 names the color and 薯 the yam, giving sweet potato.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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