腊肉 (là ròu) — cured meat (especially pork, traditionally preserved by drying or smoking for the Lunar New Year)

Definition

Cured, often smoked or air-dried meat (usually pork) traditionally made for Lunar New Year, especially in southern China. The character 腊 points to the Laba/12th-month timing, not the meat itself.

noun
cured meat (especially pork, traditionally preserved by drying or smoking for the Lunar New Year)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 腊肉。
    Wǒ mā ma zuò le hěn duō là ròu.
    My mom made a lot of cured meat.
  • 腊肉。
    Nán fāng rén xǐ huan dōng tiān chī là ròu.
    Southerners like to eat cured meat in winter.
  • 腊肉。
    Zhè kuài là ròu yǐ jīng fàng le yì nián duō le.
    This piece of cured meat has been stored for over a year.

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.

腊làcured
肉ròumeat

腊 describes the curing method, and 肉 names the meat.

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
昔
昔xī腊là
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

腊 pairs 肉, meaning meat, with 昔, which gives the sound.

Open 腊 →

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

The original shape of 肉 showed ribs of an animal’s torso, or simply a slice of meat.

Open 肉 →

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