鸣叫 (míng jiào) — to make a sound (of animals, birds, or devices such as sirens and beeps)

Definition

鸣叫 covers the calls and cries of animals/birds as well as the beeping of devices like alarms and phones. The two characters work as a verb-object pair meaning 'cry out / call'.

verb
to make a sound (of animals, birds, or devices such as sirens and beeps)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，鸣叫。
    Qīng chén, niǎo r zài zhī tóu huān kuài dì míng jiào.
    In the early morning, birds cheerfully chirp on the branches.
  • 鸣叫，。
    Jǐng bào tū rán míng jiào, rén men lì kè chè lí le dà lóu.
    The alarm suddenly sounded, and people immediately evacuated the building.
  • 鸣叫，。
    Shǒu jī lián xù míng jiào le jǐ shēng, tí xǐng tā yǒu xīn xiāo xi.
    The phone beeped several times in a row, reminding him of new messages.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

鸣míngcry
叫jiàocall

鸣 and 叫 both express producing a sound, so together they mean to call or beep.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鳴; 鸣 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鳴 combines 口 (mouth) and 鳥 (bird) to show a bird crying.

Open 鸣 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū叫jiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叫 shows a mouth 口 and a sound part 丩. The mouth fits the old sense of shouting.

Open 叫 →

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