五花肉 (wǔ huā ròu) — pork belly (with alternating layers of fat and…

Definition

noun

pork belly (with alternating layers of fat and lean meat)

Measure word · 块

五花肉，。
Wǒ mǎi le yí kuài wǔ huā ròu, zhǔn bèi zuò hóng shāo ròu.
I bought a piece of pork belly and am planning to make braised pork.
五花肉，。
wǔ huā ròu Féi shòu xiāng jiàn, zuì shì hé zuò kǎo ròu le.
Pork belly has alternating layers of fat and lean, making it perfect for barbecue.
五花肉，。
Zhè jiā diàn de wǔ huā ròu fēi cháng xīn xiān, wèi dào hěn hǎo.
The pork belly at this shop is very fresh and tastes delicious.

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.

五花five-streaked

偏正Modifier + head

五 “five”, 花 “streak”, and 肉 “meat” describe pork with five streaked layers.

Characters in this word

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

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

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

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

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

The original shape of 肉 showed ribs of an animal’s torso, or simply a slice of meat.