龙虾 (lóng xiā) — lobster | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

lobster

Measure word · 只

Examples

龙虾。
Wǒ men diǎn le yì zhī lóng xiā.
We ordered a lobster.
龙虾。
Hǎi xiān shì chǎng mài xīn xiān de lóng xiā.
The seafood market sells fresh lobsters.
龙虾。
Qīng zhēng lóng xiā shì zhè jiā cān tīng de zhāo pai cài.
Steamed lobster is this restaurant's signature dish.

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.

龙虾 combines 龙 (dragon) and 虾 (shrimp) to name a large sea crustacean.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 龍; 龙 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 龍 originally drew a sacred creature with a large mouth and a snake-like body; the simplified 龙 is the form written here.

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 蝦; 虾 is its simplified writing.

虫叚蝦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

虫虫chónginsect

Sound part声符shēngfú

叚

叚jiǎ蝦xiā

Same sound today

In the traditional form 蝦, 虫 is the insect part and 叚 is the sound part; the simplified 虾 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

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