野驴 (yě lǘ) — Asiatic wild ass, kiang

Definition

noun
Asiatic wild asskiang
Measure word · 头

Examples

  • ，野驴。
    Zài xī zàng, nǐ kě yǐ kàn dào yě lǘ zài cǎo yuán shàng bēn pǎo.
    In Tibet, you can see wild asses running on the grasslands.
  • 野驴。
    yě lǘ Shì yì zhǒng shēng huó zài gāo yuán dì qū de dòng wù.
    The wild ass is an animal that lives in highland areas.
  • 野驴，。
    Zhè zhǒng yě lǘ de shù liàng zhèng zài jiǎn shǎo, xū yào bǎo hù.
    The number of this kind of wild ass is decreasing and needs protection.

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.

野yěwild
驴lǘdonkey

野 means wild and 驴 means donkey, so this is a wild donkey.

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.

Open 野 →

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 驢; 驴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
盧
盧lú驢lǘ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 驢 uses 馬 (horse) to show the meaning and 盧 to give the sound; the simplified 驴 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not original.

Open 驴 →

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