哺乳类 (bǔ rǔ lèi) — mammals (class Mammalia)

Definition

noun
mammals (class Mammalia)

Examples

  • 哺乳类。
    Gǒu hé māo dōu shǔ yú bǔ rǔ lèi.
    Dogs and cats are both mammals.
  • 哺乳类。
    bǔ rǔ lèi Dòng wù yòng rǔ zhī wèi yǎng yòu zǎi.
    Mammals feed their young with milk.
  • 哺乳类，。
    Jīng yú suī rán shì bǔ rǔ lèi, dàn shēng huó zài hǎi lǐ.
    Although whales are mammals, they live in the sea.

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.

哺乳feeding milk
哺bǔfeed乳rǔmilk
动宾Verb + object
类lèiclass

哺乳 (feeding milk) with 类 (class) names animals that feed their young milk.

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
甫
甫fǔ哺bǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

哺 combines 口 (mouth) to show the meaning and 甫 to give the sound.

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

乳 originally drew a kneeling woman holding and breastfeeding a child, matching its meanings of breast and milk.

Open 乳 →

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 類; 类 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
頪
頪lèi類lèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 類 pairs 犬, which relates to the meaning, with 頪, which gives the sound. The simplified 类 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 类 →

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