高丽参 (Gāo lí shēn) — Korean ginseng (a type of ginseng from Korea)

Definition

noun
Korean ginseng (a type of ginseng from Korea)

Examples

  • 高丽参。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì gēn Gāo lí shēn.
    I bought a root of Korean ginseng.
  • 高丽参。
    Zhè zhǒng Gāo lí shēn bǐ pǔ tōng cān guì hěn duō.
    This kind of Korean ginseng is much more expensive than regular ginseng.
  • 高丽参。
    Mā ma yòng Gāo lí shēn dùn le jī tāng.
    Mom stewed chicken soup with Korean ginseng.

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.

高丽Korea
高gāohigh丽lìbeautiful
联合Side by side
参cānginseng

高丽 names Korea and 参 means ginseng, so this is Korean ginseng.

Characters in this word

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

高 was drawn as a tall building.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 麗; 丽 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 麗 originally showed a deer with antlers. The simplified 丽 is a later shorthand.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 參; 参 is its simplified writing.

For simplified 参, the story belongs to traditional 參, which combines 晶 (stars), 光 (light), and 彡 (rays) to show the Three Stars; one reading takes 光 as a kneeling person looking up.

Open 参 →

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