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天狼星 (Tiān láng xīng) — Sirius (star)

Definition

noun
Sirius (star)
Measure word · 颗

Examples

  • 天狼星。
    Tiān láng xīng Shì yè kōng zhōng zuì liàng de héng xīng.
    Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.
  • 天狼星。
    Gǔ dài zhōng guó rén bǎ Tiān láng xīng kàn zuò tiān shàng de láng.
    Ancient Chinese people regarded Sirius as a wolf in the sky.
  • ，天狼星。
    Zài nán bàn qiú, dōng tiān gèng róng yì kàn dào Tiān láng xīng.
    In the Southern Hemisphere, it's easier to see Sirius in winter.

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.

天狼celestial wolf
天tiānsky狼lángwolf
偏正Modifier + head
星xīngstar

It names the 星 'star' called 天狼, literally 'celestial wolf'.

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

The top of 星 is a later simplified form of 晶, twinkling stars; the bottom 生 shows the sound.

Open 星 →
Appears in
Sky & Space

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