北极熊 (běi jí xióng) — polar bear

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
熊xióngbear

"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'.

Open 北 →

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
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.

Open 极 →

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'.

Open 熊 →
Appears in
Animals & Mammals

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