象鼻虫 (xiàng bí chóng) — weevil, snout beetle | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

weevilsnout beetle

Measure word · 只

Examples

象鼻虫。
Nóng tián lǐ de xiàng bí chóng duì zhuāng jia wēi hài hěn dà.
Weevils in the fields cause great harm to crops.
象鼻虫。
Wǒ zài gǔ cāng lǐ fā xiàn le jǐ zhī xiàng bí chóng.
I found several weevils in the granary.
象鼻虫。
Zhè zhǒng xiàng bí chóng de shòu mìng zhǐ yǒu jǐ gè yuè.
This type of weevil only lives for a few months.

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.

象鼻elephant nose

象xiàngelephant鼻bínose

偏正Modifier + head

虫chónginsect

象 means 'elephant', 鼻 means 'nose', and 虫 means 'insect', naming an insect with an elephant-like snout.

Characters in this word

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

象 is drawn as an elephant, with a long trunk, a head, and a big body.

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

自畀鼻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

自自zìnose

Sound part声符shēngfú

畀

畀bì鼻bí

Same sound today

鼻 pairs 自, meaning nose, with 畀, which gives the sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蟲; 虫 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 蟲 is the one the reference discusses; 虫 is also a traditional character on its own.

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