野兔 (yě tù) — hare | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

hare

Measure word · 只

Examples

野兔。
Zuó tiān wǒ zài shān lǐ kàn dào yì zhī yě tù.
Yesterday I saw a hare in the mountains.
野兔。
Zhè zhǒng yě tù de máo shì huī sè de.
The fur of this kind of hare is gray.
野兔。
yě tù Pǎo dé hěn kuài.
Hares run very fast.

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.

兔tùrabbit

野 means wild and 兔 means rabbit, giving a wild rabbit.

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

田田tiánfield

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

予

予yǔ野yě

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

野 combines 田 (field) above 土 (earth) to show open country, with 予 giving the sound.

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

The shape of 兔 comes from drawing a rabbit.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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