蛤蜊 (gé lí) — clam | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

clam

Measure word · 只

Examples

蛤蜊。
Jīn tiān wǎn fàn wǒ men chī gé lí tāng ba.
Let's have clam soup for dinner today.
蛤蜊。
Hǎi biān yǒu hěn duō gé lí kě yǐ jiǎn.
There are many clams to pick up at the seaside.
蛤蜊，。
Zhè dào cài yòng xīn xiān de gé lí zuò de, wèi dào hěn xiān.
This dish is made with fresh clams and tastes very savory.

Origin

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

蜊lí

蛤 and 蜊 carry no separate meaning here; the pair names a clam.

Sound-only characters

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

虫合蛤

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

合

合hé蛤gé

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

蛤 uses 虫 to show it is a creature and 合 to give the sound.

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

虫利蜊

Meaning part形符xíngfú

虫虫chónginsect

Sound part声符shēngfú

利

Same sound today

蜊 combines 虫 (insect) with 利, which gives the sound.

Appears in

Fish & Aquatic Life Meat & Seafood

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.