麦麸 (mài fū) — wheat bran

Definition

noun
wheat bran

Examples

  • 麦麸。
    Zhè ge miàn bāo jiā le mài fū.
    This bread has wheat bran added.
  • 麦麸。
    Rén chī mài fū duì shēn tǐ hǎo.
    Eating wheat bran is good for the body.
  • 麦麸。
    Tā gěi jī chī mài fū.
    He feeds the chickens wheat bran.

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
麸fūbran

麦 names wheat and 麸 names bran, so the word denotes the bran of wheat.

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 麸 →

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