饲养 (sì yǎng) — to raise, to rear (animals) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

饲养 is for raising animals — especially livestock or in commercial/professional settings like farms or zoos. Contrast with 喂养 (feeding and caring for a baby, pet, or small-scale animal) and 养殖 (breeding/aquaculture, often a field or industry).

verb

to raiseto rear (animals)

Examples

饲养。
Zhè ge nóng chǎng zhuān mén sì yǎng nǎi niú.
This farm specializes in raising dairy cows.
饲养。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù zài xiāng xia sì yǎng jiā qín.
She has been raising poultry in the countryside since childhood.
饲养。
Shuǐ zú guǎn jīng xīn sì yǎng le hěn duō rè dài yú.
The aquarium carefully raises many tropical fish.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

饲 and 养 both cover feeding and raising 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

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.

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.

羊羊yángsheep
食食shíto feed

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

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Agriculture & Farming

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