遗孤 (yí gū) — orphan | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

orphan

Measure word · 个

遗孤。
Zhè duì fū fù shōu yǎng le sān míng zhàn zhēng yí gū.
This couple adopted three war orphans.
遗孤。
Nà wèi lǎo zuò jiā chū zī zī zhù le xǔ duō yí gū.
That old writer funded many orphans.
遗孤。
Zhè xiē yí gū zài cí shàn jī gòu dé dào le hěn hǎo de zhào gù.
These orphans received excellent care at the charity institution.

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.

遗yíleft behind

The left-behind idea in 遗 joins the orphan idea in 孤 to name a child left behind by dead parents.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 遺; 遗 is its simplified writing.

辶貴遺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuòmove

Sound part声符shēngfú

貴

貴guì遺yí

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

The traditional form 遺 pairs 辶 (move) with 貴 as a sound part; the simplified 遗 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the old sound part.

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

子瓜孤

Meaning part形符xíngfú

子子zǐchild

Sound part声符shēngfú

瓜

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

孤 uses 子 (child) to show a child, and 瓜 to give the sound.