人猿 (rén yuán) — ape (primate of the family Hominidae); orangutan | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ape (primate of the family Hominidae)orangutan

Measure word · 只

Examples

人猿。
rén yuán Shēng huó zài rè dài yǔ lín lǐ.
Apes live in tropical rainforests.
人猿。
Zhè zhī rén yuán de gē bo hěn cháng.
This orangutan's arms are very long.
人猿。
Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū rén yuán de xíng wéi.
Scientists are studying ape behavior.

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.

人 means human and 猿 means ape, giving a human-like ape.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

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

犭袁猿

Meaning part形符xíngfú

犭Written in full as犬quǎn

Sound part声符shēngfú

袁

袁yuán猿yuán

Same sound today

The left part 犭, written in full as 犬, shows an animal; the right part 袁 gives the sound.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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