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蛤蟆 (há ma) — frog; toad

Definition

noun
frogtoad
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 蛤蟆。
    Wǒ zài chí táng biān kàn dào le yì zhī há ma.
    I saw a frog by the pond.
  • 蛤蟆。
    Zhè zhī há ma de jiào shēng hěn dà.
    This frog's croak is very loud.
  • 蛤蟆。
    Xiǎo péng yǒu dōu xǐ huan kàn há ma.
    Children all like to watch frogs.

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.

蛤há
蟆ma

The characters 蛤 and 蟆 carry no separate meaning here; together they name a frog or toad.

Sound-only characters

Most 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
虫虫chóng
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.

Open 蛤 →

Most 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
虫虫chóng
Sound part声符shēngfú
莫
莫mò蟆
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

蟆 combines 虫 with 莫; the 莫 part gives the sound.

Appears in
Animals & Mammals

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