鹅 (é) — goose
Definition
noun
goose
Measure word · 只
Examples
- 鹅。Tā yǎng le wǔ zhī é.He raises five geese.
- 鹅。Wǒ men chī le yì pán kǎo é ròu.We ate a plate of roast goose meat.
- 鹅。Cài shì chǎng lǐ yǒu huó de é mài.There are live geese for sale at the market.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 鵝; 鹅 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
鳥鳥niǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ鵝é
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
In the traditional form 鵝, 鳥 shows it is a bird and 我 gives the sound; the simplified 鹅 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.
Appears in
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