野草 (yě cǎo) — weeds; wild grass | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

weedswild grass

Measure word · 棵

野草。
Huā yuán lǐ zhǎng mǎn le yě cǎo.
The garden is overgrown with weeds.
野草。
yě cǎo De shēng mìng lì fēi cháng wán qiáng.
Wild grass has very tenacious vitality.
，野草。
Chūn tiān dào le, yě cǎo kāi shǐ shēng zhǎng.
Spring has come, and the wild grass starts growing.

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.

野 means wild, and 草 means grass, together naming wild grass.

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

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

予

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.

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

艹早草

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

早

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Appears in