驼峰 (tuó fēng) — hump (of a camel) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

hump (of a camel)

Measure word · 个

驼峰。
Luò tuo bèi shàng yǒu liǎng gè tuó fēng.
Camels have two humps on their backs.
驼峰。
Zhè ge tuó fēng lǐ chǔ cún le dà liàng de zhī fáng.
This hump stores a large amount of fat.
驼峰。
Shā mò lǐ de rén yòng tuó fēng lái pàn duàn luò tuo shì fǒu jiàn kāng.
People in the desert use the hump to judge whether a camel is healthy.

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.

驼 gives camel and 峰 gives hump, so 驼峰 is a camel's hump.

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 駝; 驼 is its simplified writing.

馬它駝

Meaning part形符xíngfú

馬馬mǎhorse

Sound part声符shēngfú

它

它tā駝tuó

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 駝 shows 馬 (horse) beside 它, which gives the sound; the simplified 驼 is a shorthand, so its parts are not historical pieces.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

山夆峰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

山山shānmountain

Sound part声符shēngfú

夆

夆páng峰fēng

Same sound today

峰 combines 山 (mountain) with 夆, which gives the character its sound.

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