鸟群 (niǎo qún) — flock of birds | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

flock of birds

Measure word · 群

Examples

鸟群。
Tiān kōng zhōng yǒu hěn duō niǎo qún fēi guò.
There are many flocks of birds flying across the sky.
鸟群。
niǎo qún Zài shù shàng xiū xi.
The flock of birds is resting in the tree.
鸟群。
Wǒ kàn dào yí dà qún niǎo qún xiàng nán fēi qù.
I saw a large flock of birds flying south.

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.

群qúnflock/group

鸟 names the birds and 群 names the flock, together giving 'flock of birds'.

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 鳥; 鸟 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鳥 came from a drawing of a bird with a dangling tail; the simplified 鸟 is a later abbreviation.

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

君羊群

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

君

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

群 pairs 羊, a sheep, to point to a herd or group, with 君 giving the sound.

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