饲养员 (sì yǎng yuán) — a person who raises or takes care of animals, especially in a zoo or on a farm

Definition

noun
a person who raises or takes care of animals, especially in a zoo or on a farm
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 饲养员。
    Zhè wèi sì yǎng yuán měi tiān dōu yào gěi dòng wù men zhǔn bèi shí wù.
    This animal keeper prepares food for the animals every day.
  • 饲养员。
    Dòng wù yuán de sì yǎng yuán men fēi cháng liǎo jiě měi yì zhǒng dòng wù de xí xìng.
    The zookeepers know the habits of every kind of animal very well.
  • 饲养员，。
    Tā shì yì míng jīng yàn fēng fù de sì yǎng yuán, zhuān mén fù zé zhào gù dà xióng māo.
    He is an experienced animal keeper, specifically responsible for taking care of giant pandas.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

饲养raise animals
饲sìfeed养yǎngraise
联合Side by side
员yuánperson

饲养 means raising animals and 员 denotes a person, so it names someone who keeps animals.

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 飼; 饲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī飼sì
Same sound today

The traditional form 飼 uses 食 to connect the meaning to food and 司 to give the sound; the simplified 饲 is a later shorthand.

Open 饲 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →

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 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.