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大灰狼 (dà huī láng) — big bad wolf

Definition

大灰狼 is the classic Chinese name for the 'big bad wolf' of fairy tales and fables — the archetypal villain who preys on the weak. It is usually a fixed, storybook term rather than a literal label for any large gray wolf.

noun
big bad wolf
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 大灰狼，。
    Gù shi lǐ yǒu yì zhī dà huī láng, tā xiǎng chī diào xiǎo yáng.
    In the story there is a big bad wolf, and it wants to eat the little lamb.
  • 大灰狼。
    Hái zi men dōu hài pà nà ge dà huī láng.
    The children are all afraid of that big bad wolf.
  • 大灰狼。
    Bú yào xiàng dà huī láng yí yàng qī fu ruò zhě.
    Don't bully the weak like a big bad wolf.

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.

大dàbig
灰狼gray wolf
灰huīgray狼lángwolf
偏正Modifier + head

大 (big) modifies 灰狼 (gray wolf), giving 'big bad wolf'.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

灰 shows 火 (fire) that can be touched by 又 (hand), meaning ash.

Open 灰 →

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng狼láng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 犭 (full form 犬) shows a dog-like animal. The right part 良 gives the sound.

Open 狼 →
Appears in
Animals & MammalsMythology & Folklore

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