夹竹桃 (jiā zhú táo) — oleander | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

oleander

Measure word · 棵

夹竹桃，。
Zhè zhǒng jiā zhú táo zài nán fāng hěn cháng jiàn, kāi de huā yǒu fěn hóng sè hé bái sè.
This kind of oleander is very common in the south; its flowers are pink and white.
夹竹桃，，。
jiā zhú táo Suī rán hǎo kàn, dàn tā de yè zi yǒu dú, bù néng suí biàn pèng.
Although oleander looks nice, its leaves are poisonous, so you can't touch them casually.
夹竹桃，。
Gōng yuán lǐ zhǒng le yì pái jiā zhú táo, xià tiān de shí hou tè bié piào liang.
A row of oleanders was planted in the park, and they look especially beautiful in summer.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 夾; 夹 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 夾 draws a person with two people beside or under the arms, giving the idea of holding or sandwiching between sides.

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

竹 pictures two bamboo stalks with leaves.

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

木兆桃

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

兆

兆zhào桃táo(r)

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

桃 combines 木, meaning tree, with 兆, which gives the sound.