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贝类 (bèi lèi) — shellfish; mollusks (general term for aquatic mollusks with shells, such as clams, oysters, mussels)

Definition

noun
shellfishmollusks (general term for aquatic mollusks with shells, such as clams, oysters, mussels)

Examples

  • 贝类。
    Yán hǎi jū mín jīng cháng bǔ lāo bèi lèi zuò wéi shí wù.
    Coastal residents often catch shellfish for food.
  • 贝类。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de bèi lèi tāng wèi dào xiān měi.
    The shellfish soup at this restaurant tastes delicious.
  • 贝类。
    Hǎi yáng wū rǎn duì bèi lèi de shēng cún zào chéng le wēi xié.
    Marine pollution poses a threat to the survival of shellfish.

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.

贝bèishell
类lèicategory

贝 (shell) and 类 (category) name shelled aquatic animals.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貝; 贝 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 貝, not the simplified 贝, shows a cowrie shell used as money in ancient China.

Open 贝 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 類; 类 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
頪
頪lèi類lèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 類 pairs 犬, which relates to the meaning, with 頪, which gives the sound. The simplified 类 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 类 →
Appears in
Fish & Aquatic Life

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