雁 (yàn) — wild goose
Definition
A wild goose — in modern Chinese 雁 mostly appears in poetry, idioms, and set phrases (e.g. 大雁) rather than everyday talk, where you would more often say 鹅.
noun
wild goose
Measure word · 只
Examples
- ，。Qiū tiān dào le, dà yàn wǎng nán fēi.Autumn has come, and the wild geese fly south.
- 雁。Zhōng guó gǔ shī zhōng cháng tí dào yàn.Wild geese are often mentioned in classical Chinese poetry.
- 雁。Wǒ men zài hú biān kàn dào yì qún yàn.We saw a flock of wild geese by the lake.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
For 雁, 厂 gives the sound, while 人 and 隹 are meaning parts.
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