麦浪 (mài làng) — billowing wheat fields

Definition

Literary image-word for the wave-like ripples across a wheat field when the wind blows. More poetic than plain 麦田 ('wheat field') — it emphasizes the moving, rolling shape.

noun
billowing wheat fields

Examples

  • 麦浪。
    Qiū tiān de mài làng zài yáng guāng xià shǎn shǎn fā guāng.
    The billowing wheat fields in autumn shimmer in the sunlight.
  • 麦浪，。
    Fēng chuī guò mài làng, fā chū shā shā de shēng yīn.
    The wind blows through the billowing wheat fields, making a rustling sound.
  • 麦浪。
    Yí piàn jīn sè de mài làng ràng rén gǎn dào wēn nuǎn.
    A stretch of golden billowing wheat fields makes people feel warm.

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.

麦màiwheat
浪làngwaves

麦 names wheat and 浪 names waves, so the word pictures wheat fields rippling like waves.

Characters in this word

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 麥; 麦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夊夊suīfootprint pointing down; to walk slowly
Sound part声符shēngfú
來
來lái麥mài
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 麦, the traditional form 麥 pairs 來, which gives the sound and once meant wheat, with 夊, a footprint pointing down for slow walking.

Open 麦 →

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng浪làng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

浪 pairs 水 (water) with 良, which supplies the sound. The water part points to its meaning of waves.

Open 浪 →

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