候鸟 (hòu niǎo) — migratory bird | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

migratory bird

Measure word · 只

，候鸟。
Měi nián qiū tiān, hěn duō hòu niǎo huì fēi dào nán fāng guò dōng.
Every autumn, many migratory birds fly south for the winter.
候鸟。
Zhè piàn shī dì shì xǔ duō hòu niǎo de qī xī dì.
This wetland is a habitat for many migratory birds.
候鸟。
Bǎo hù hòu niǎo duì shēng tài huán jìng hěn zhòng yào.
Protecting migratory birds is very important to the ecological environment.

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.

候hòuseason/time

候 points to seasonal timing, and 鸟 is bird; together they name birds that move with the seasons.

Characters in this word

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

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

矦

矦hóu候hòu

Same sound today

候 combines 亻, relating to people, with 矦, which gives the sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鳥; 鸟 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鳥 came from a drawing of a bird with a dangling tail; the simplified 鸟 is a later abbreviation.