(yīng) — eagle; hawk; falcon

Definition

noun
eaglehawkfalcon
Measure word ·

Examples

  • Yì zhī yīng cóng shān dǐng fēi guò.
    An eagle flew over the mountaintop.
  • yīng De shì lì fēi cháng hǎo.
    Eagles have very good eyesight.
  • Tā zài yě wài pāi dào yì zhī yīng.
    He photographed an eagle in the wild.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 鷹; 鹰 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
niǎobird
Sound part声符shēngfú
yīng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鷹 combines 鳥 (bird) with 䧹, which gives the sound.

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