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哺育 (bǔ yù) — to feed (of birds, animals); to nurture, to foster (figurative)

Definition

哺育 is 'to feed and raise' — used literally for animals feeding their young, and figuratively for nurturing (e.g. a culture, generations). More literal/bodily than 培养 or 培育, which focus on cultivating skills/talents.

verb
to feed (of birds, animals)to nurtureto foster (figurative)

Examples

  • 哺育。
    Mǔ niǎo yòng zuǐ bǔ yù yòu niǎo.
    The mother bird feeds her chicks with her beak.
  • 哺育。
    Huáng hé bǔ yù le zhōng huá wén míng.
    The Yellow River nurtured Chinese civilization.
  • 哺育。
    Lǎo shī de jiào huì bǔ yù le yí dài yòu yí dài xué shēng.
    The teacher's instruction nurtured generations of students.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

哺bǔfeed
育yùnurture

哺 means feed, 育 means nurture; together they give the idea of feeding and fostering.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 育 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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