吼声 (hǒu shēng) — roar (of an animal or person) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

roar (of an animal or person)

Measure word · 声

Examples

吼声吼声。
Yuǎn hǒu shēng chù chuán lái yí zhèn hǒu shēng.
A roar came from afar.
吼声。
Lǎo hǔ de hǒu shēng zhèn dòng le zhěng gè shān gǔ.
The tiger's roar shook the whole valley.
吼声。
Tā fèn nù de hǒu shēng ràng suǒ yǒu rén dōu ān jìng le xià lái.
His angry roar silenced everyone.

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.

吼 and 声 join a roar with the idea of sound, giving a loud cry.

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.

口孔吼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

孔

孔kǒng吼hǒu

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

吼 combines 口 (mouth) with 孔, which gives the character its sound. The mouth part shows the roar or growl is made by the mouth.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

殸耳聲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

殸

殸qìng聲shēng

Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

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