多年生 (duō nián shēng) — perennial (of plants, living for more than two…

Definition

adjective

perennial (of plants, living for more than two years)

多年生。
Zhè zhǒng zhí wù shì duō nián shēng de.
This plant is a perennial.
多年生。
Méi gui shì yì zhǒng duō nián shēng zhí wù.
Roses are a type of perennial plant.
多年生。
duō nián shēng Zhí wù bù xū yào měi nián chóng xīn zhǒng.
Perennial plants don't need to be replanted every year.

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.

多年many years

偏正Modifier + head

多年 means many years, and 生 refers to living or growing, together describing a plant that lives for many years.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

多 originally showed two pieces of meat placed together; the repeated meat shape gives the sense of many.

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

禾禾héwheat; grain

Sound part声符shēngfú

人

人rén年nián

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

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.