西葫芦 (xī hú lú) — zucchini; courgette; summer squash | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

zucchinicourgettesummer squash

Measure word · 个

Examples

西葫芦，。
Jīn tiān mǎi le liǎng gè xī hú lú, dǎ suàn zuò chǎo cài.
I bought two zucchinis today and plan to stir-fry them.
西葫芦，。
xī hú lú Qiē chéng báo piàn, yòng yán yān yí xià gèng hǎo chī.
Slice the zucchini thin, and it tastes better after being salted.
西葫芦。
Zhè ge cài yòng le xīn xiān de xī hú lú hé xī hóng shì.
This dish uses fresh zucchini and tomatoes.

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.

葫芦gourd

葫hú芦lú

联合Side by side

西 'west' and 葫芦 'gourd' combine to mean a western gourd.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

胡

Same sound today

葫 combines 艸 (grass) with 胡, which gives its sound.

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

艹户芦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant

Sound part声符shēngfú

户

户hù芦lú

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

芦 combines 艹, the plant marker, with 户, which gives the sound.

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