大葱 (dà cōng) — scallion; green onion; leek

Definition

noun
scalliongreen onionleek
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 大葱。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì xiē dà cōng.
    I bought some scallions.
  • 大葱。
    Mā ma yòng dà cōng zuò tāng.
    Mom uses scallions to make soup.
  • 大葱。
    Zhè zhǒng dà cōng hěn xīn xiān.
    This kind of scallion is very fresh.

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dàlarge
葱cōngonion

大 means large, and 葱 means onion, together naming the larger green onion or leek.

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 →

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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
怱
怱cōng葱cōng
Same sound today

葱 pairs 艸, the grass sign, with 怱, which supplies the sound.

Open 葱 →

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