古柯 (gǔ kē) — coca (plant)

Definition

noun
coca (plant)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 古柯
    Nán měi zhōu de gǔ kē shì yì zhǒng zhòng yào de jīng jì zuò wù.
    The coca plant in South America is an important cash crop.
  • 古柯
    Dāng dì jū mín yòng gǔ kē de yè zi pào chá lái huǎn jiě gāo yuán fǎn yìng.
    Local residents use coca leaves to brew tea to alleviate altitude sickness.
  • 古柯
    Zhè zhǒng zhí wù bèi chēng wéi gǔ kē, zài chuán tǒng yī xué zhōng yǒu yōu jiǔ de lì shǐ.
    This plant is called coca and has a long history in traditional medicine.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One reading of 古 sees a shield-like shape above an open mark, showing strength and firmness. Another sees a person spitting out bad-tasting food.

Open 古 →

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
tree
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

柯 is built from 木 (tree) plus 可, a part that gives the character its sound.

Open 柯 →

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