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香肠 (xiāng cháng) — sausage

Definition

A common food — seasoned ground meat stuffed into a casing. The compound literally means 'fragrant intestine'; the standalone 肠 means intestines (the organ).

noun
sausage
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 香肠。
    Mā ma zài chāo shì mǎi le liǎng gēn xiāng cháng.
    Mom bought two sausages at the supermarket.
  • 香肠，。
    xiāng cháng Kě yǐ jiān zhe chī, yě kě yǐ kǎo zhe chī.
    Sausages can be pan-fried or grilled.
  • 香肠，。
    Zhè gēn xiāng cháng tài xián le, wǒ bù xǐ huan.
    This sausage is too salty; I don't like it.

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.

香xiāngfragrant
肠chángintestine

香肠 pairs 香 (fragrant) with 肠 (intestine) to name a sausage.

Characters in this word

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

香's early form paired 黍 (glutinous millet) with 口 (mouth), perhaps showing millet drink being taken in or offered.

Open 香 →

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 腸; 肠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròubody
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng腸cháng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 腸 pairs 肉, the body, with 昜, which gives the sound; the simplified 肠 is a later shorthand.

Open 肠 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Meat & Seafood5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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