蒲公英 (pú gōng yīng) — dandelion | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

dandelion

Measure word · 棵

Examples

，蒲公英。
Chūn tiān lái le, pú gōng yīng kāi chū le huáng sè de xiǎo huā.
Spring has come, and the dandelion has bloomed small yellow flowers.
蒲公英，。
Hái zi duì zhe pú gōng yīng qīng qīng yì chuī, zhǒng zi jiù fēi zǒu le.
The child blew gently on the dandelion, and the seeds flew away.
蒲公英，。
Nǎi nai yòng pú gōng yīng pào chá, shuō duì shēn tǐ hǎo.
Grandma makes tea with dandelion, saying it's good for your health.

Origin

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.

艹浦蒲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎovegetation

Sound part声符shēngfú

浦

浦pǔ蒲pú

Same sound today

蒲 has 艹 (vegetation) on top to show it is a plant, and 浦 to give its sound.

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

One theory sees 公 as a picture of a wide-mouthed, round-bottomed jar.

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

艹央英

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

央

央yāng英yīng

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

英 pairs 艹 (grass) with 央, which gives the sound.

Appears in

Plants & Flowers

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