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万年青 (wàn nián qīng) — Chinese evergreen (Rohdea japonica), a plant valued for its symbolic meaning of longevity

Definition

A traditional houseplant (Rohdea japonica) given on birthdays and New Year as a symbol of long life — the name literally means 'ten-thousand-year green.'

noun
Chinese evergreen (Rohdea japonica), a plant valued for its symbolic meaning of longevity
Measure word · 棵

Examples

  • ，万年青。
    Nǎi nai guò shēng rì de shí hou, wǒ sòng le tā yì pén wàn nián qīng.
    For grandma's birthday, I gave her a pot of Chinese evergreen.
  • 万年青，。
    Zhè pén wàn nián qīng yǐ jīng yǎng le shí nián le, hái shì zhè me lǜ.
    This pot of Chinese evergreen has been kept for ten years and is still so green.
  • ，万年青。
    Zài zhōng guó wén huà zhōng, wàn nián qīng xiàng zhēng cháng shòu.
    In Chinese culture, the Chinese evergreen symbolizes longevity.

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.

万年ten thousand years
万wànten thousand年niányears
偏正Modifier + head
青qīnggreen

万年 means ten thousand years and 青 means green, describing a plant that stays green for ages.

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 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

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
禾禾héwheat; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén年nián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Open 年 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

Open 青 →
Appears in
Plants & Flowers

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