苍蝇 (cāng ying) — housefly | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

housefly

Measure word · 只

Examples

苍蝇。
Fáng jiān lǐ yǒu cāng ying zài fēi.
There is a fly flying in the room.
，苍蝇。
Nǐ xū yào bǎ zhè xiē shí wù gài hǎo, bù rán cāng ying huì luò shàng qù.
You need to cover this food, or flies will land on it.
苍蝇，。
Xià tiān de shí hou cāng ying tè bié duō, hěn fán rén.
In summer there are a lot of flies, which is really annoying.

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.

苍cānggrayish

蝇yíngfly

苍蝇 pictures a 苍 (grayish) 蝇 (fly), giving the common housefly.

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 蒼; 苍 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

倉

倉cāng蒼cāng

Same sound today

The traditional form 蒼 pairs 艸 (grass) with 倉 as a sound part. The simplified 苍 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 苍 →

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 蠅; 蝇 is its simplified writing.

虫黽蠅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

虫虫chónginsect

Sound part声符shēngfú

黽

黽mǐn蠅yíng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

蝇 is the simplified form of 蠅, which pairs 虫 (insect) with 黽 as a sound part.

Open 蝇 →