蜀葵 (shǔ kuí) — hollyhock | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

hollyhock

Measure word · 棵

Examples

蜀葵。
Wǒ zài huā yuán lǐ zhǒng le jǐ kē shǔ kuí.
I planted a few hollyhocks in the garden.
蜀葵，。
Zhè xiē shǔ kuí kāi huā le, fēi cháng piào liang.
These hollyhocks have bloomed, and they are very beautiful.
蜀葵，。
shǔ kuí De jīng hěn gāo, néng cháng dào liǎng mǐ zuǒ yòu.
Hollyhock stems are very tall, reaching around two meters.

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.

蜀 names the region and 葵 denotes a mallow, giving Shu mallow.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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.

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