跳蚤 (tiào zǎo) — flea | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

flea

Measure word · 只

Examples

跳蚤，。
Māo shēn shàng yǒu tiào zǎo, xū yào gǎn jǐn chǔ lǐ.
There are fleas on the cat, need to deal with it quickly.
跳蚤，。
tiào zǎo Suī xiǎo, yǎo rén què fēi cháng yǎng.
Fleas are small, but their bites are very itchy.
跳蚤。
Shì chǎng shàng mài de yì zhǒng yào néng yǒu xiào shā miè tiào zǎo.
A medicine sold on the market can effectively kill fleas.

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.

跳 gives the jumping idea, and 蚤 gives the flea idea, together naming the flea.

Characters in this word

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

足足zúfoot

Sound part声符shēngfú

兆

兆zhào跳tiào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

跳 pairs 足 (foot) with 兆, which supplies the sound; the foot part shows the action is done with the feet.

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

㕚㕚㕚claw
虫虫chónginsect

蚤 pairs 虫 (insect) with 㕚 (claw), showing an insect that scratches.

Appears in

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