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仔 (zǎi) — (bound form) young of animals, cub, offspring

Definition

仔 (zǎi) is a bound noun meaning 'young animal / cub' — it never stands alone, always attached to the animal name (e.g. 猪仔, 狗仔). At HSK 7 it also appears in set words like 仔细 ('careful, detailed').

bound form
young of animalscuboffspring

Examples

  • 仔。
    Nà zhī mǔ gǒu shēng le sān zhī xiǎo gǒu zǎi.
    That mother dog gave birth to three puppies.
  • 仔。
    Nà zhī mǔ māo shēng le sān zhī xiǎo zǎi.
    That mother cat gave birth to three kittens.
  • 仔。
    Zhè jiā nóng chǎng yǎng le hěn duō zǎi zhū.
    This farm raises many piglets.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
人人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
子
子zǐ仔zǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

仔 puts 人 (person) next to 子, which gives the sound.

Appears in
Animals & Mammals5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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