美洲虎 (Měi zhōu hǔ) — jaguar | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

jaguar

Measure word · 只

Examples

美洲虎。
Wǒ zài dòng wù yuán lǐ dì yī cì kàn dào Měi zhōu hǔ.
I saw a jaguar for the first time at the zoo.
美洲虎。
Měi zhōu hǔ Shì yì zhǒng fēi cháng qiáng dà de māo kē dòng wù.
The jaguar is a very powerful feline.
，美洲虎。
Zài rè dài yǔ lín zhōng, Měi zhōu hǔ shì dǐng jí de bǔ shí zhě.
In the tropical rainforest, the jaguar is a top predator.

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.

美洲America

美měiAmerica洲zhōucontinent

偏正Modifier + head

美洲 means America, and 虎 means tiger; the jaguar is the American tiger.

Characters in this word

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

羊羊yángram or feathers
大大dàperson

美 shows 大, a person, wearing 羊, a headdress of feathers or ram's horn.

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

州

州zhōu洲zhōu

Same sound today

洲 is built from 水 (water) and 州, which gives the sound.

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

虎 originally drew a tiger's head. Its body disappeared, and the legs and tail became the lower part.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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