壁虎 (bì hǔ) — gecko | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

gecko

Measure word · 只

Examples

壁虎。
Wǒ zài fáng jiān lǐ fā xiàn le yì zhī bì hǔ.
I found a gecko in the room.
壁虎。
bì hǔ Xǐ huan chī wén zi hé xiǎo chóng zi.
Geckos like to eat mosquitoes and small bugs.
，壁虎。
Yǒu yì tiān, yì zhī bì hǔ pá dào le wǒ de shū zhuō shàng.
One day, a gecko crawled onto my desk.

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.

壁 (wall) and 虎 (tiger) name a small lizard often seen on walls.

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.

土辟壁

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

辟

辟pì壁bì

Same sound today

壁 combines 土 (earth) and 辟, which gives the sound. The whole means an earthen wall.

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

虎 originally drew a tiger's head. Its body disappeared, and the legs and tail became the lower part.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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