TongTong
Sign in

马铃薯 (mǎ líng shǔ) — potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Definition

noun
potato (Solanum tuberosum)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 马铃薯。
    mǎ líng shǔ Shì yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de shū cài.
    Potato is a common vegetable.
  • 马铃薯。
    Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì gōng jīn mǎ líng shǔ.
    I want to buy one kilogram of potatoes.
  • 马铃薯。
    Zhè dào cài xū yào bǎ mǎ líng shǔ qiē chéng xiǎo kuài.
    This dish requires cutting the potatoes into small pieces.

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.

马铃horsebell
马mǎhorse铃língbell
偏正Modifier + head
薯shǔtuber

马铃, a bell for a horse, describes the shape of the 薯, a tuber.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →

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 鈴; 铃 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng鈴líng
Same sound today

The traditional form 鈴 pairs 金 (metal) with 令 as a sound part; the simplified 铃 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 铃 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 薯 →
Appears in
Vegetables

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