葵花子 (kuí huā zi) — sunflower seeds | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

sunflower seeds

Measure word · 颗

葵花子，。
Wǒ mǎi le yì bāo kuí huā zi, biān kàn diàn shì biān chī.
I bought a bag of sunflower seeds and ate them while watching TV.
葵花子，。
Zhè xiē kuí huā zi shì gāng cóng dì lǐ shōu de, hěn xīn xiān.
These sunflower seeds were just harvested from the field; they're very fresh.
葵花子。
Tā xǐ huan zài jù huì shí qǐng dà jiā chī kuí huā zi.
He likes to treat everyone to sunflower seeds at parties.

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.

葵花sunflower

葵kuísunflower花huāflower

偏正Modifier + head

葵花 points to the sunflower plant, while 子 gives the seed sense.

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.

艹癸葵

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss, plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

癸

癸guǐ葵kuí

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

葵 uses 艹 (grass, plant) to show it is a kind of plant and 癸 to give its sound.

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

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.