芹 (qín) — celery (bound form; used in compounds such as 芹菜)
Definition
芹 is a bound form meaning 'celery' — it almost never stands alone, and appears in the everyday word 芹菜 (celery).
bound form
celery (bound form; used in compounds such as 芹菜)
Easily confused
- 斤jīnlook-alike(classifier) Chinese unit of weight, equal to 500 g in mainland China (regional variations exist)
- 琴qínsound-alikeguqin (ancient Chinese zither)
- 勤qínsound-alikediligent, hardworking
- 擒qínsound-aliketo capture; to catch; to seize
- 秦qínsound-alikeQin dynasty (221-206 BC, the first imperial dynasty of China)
- 嗪qínsound-alikeused in phonetic transcription -xine, -zine or -chin
Examples
- 。Wǒ xǐ huan chī qín cài.I like eating celery.
- 。Mā ma mǎi le yì xiē qín cài.Mom bought some celery.
- 。qín Cài hěn xīn xiān.The celery is very fresh.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
斤
斤jīn芹qín
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
芹 has 艹 on top to show it is a plant, and 斤 below to give the sound.
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