胡图族 (hú tú zú) — Hutu, an ethnic group in Rwanda and Burundi

Definition

noun

Hutu, an ethnic group in Rwanda and Burundi

Measure word · 个

胡图族。
hú tú zú Shì lú wàng dá de yí gè zhǔ yào mín zú.
The Hutu are a major ethnic group in Rwanda.
胡图族。
hú tú zú Hé tú xī zú yǒu guò chōng tū.
There were conflicts between the Hutu and the Tutsi.
胡图族。
hú tú zú De rén kǒu zài lú wàng dá zhàn dà bù fen.
The Hutu population makes up the majority in Rwanda.

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.

胡图Hutu

族zúethnic group

胡图 sounds like the foreign name, and 族 names the ethnic group.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

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

胡 combines 古, which points to its sound, with ⺼ (肉), meaning meat or flesh.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 圖; 图 is its simplified writing.

囗啚圖

The traditional form 圖 pairs 囗, a walled city, with 啚, an early form meaning remote areas or territory. The simplified 图 is a later abbreviation.

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

族 combines 㫃, a flag, and 矢, an arrow.

Appears in