北极熊 (běi jí xióng) — polar bear | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

polar bear

Measure word · 只

Examples

北极熊。
běi jí xióng Shì yì zhǒng shēng huó zài běi jí de dòng wù.
The polar bear is an animal that lives in the Arctic.
，北极熊。
Yīn wèi quán qiú biàn nuǎn, běi jí xióng de shù liàng yuè lái yuè shǎo.
Because of global warming, the number of polar bears is getting smaller and smaller.
北极熊。
Zhè zhī běi jí xióng zhèng zài bīng shàng xún zhǎo shí wù.
This polar bear is looking for food on the ice.

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.

北极North Pole

北běinorth极jípole

偏正Modifier + head

"北极" North Pole and "熊" bear: a bear associated with the North Pole.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 北 shows two people standing back to back. It originally meant 'back'.

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

木及极

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree, wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

及

及jí极jí

Same sound today

极 pairs 木 (tree, wood) with 及, which provides the sound.

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

能能néngbear

Sound part声符shēngfú

炎

炎yán熊xióng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

熊 is made of 能 and 炎. It originally represented a word for raging flame; when 能 was borrowed for another word, 熊 came to write 'bear'.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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