小珠 (xiǎo zhū) — (small) bead; globule; pellet

Definition

noun

(small) beadglobulepellet

Measure word · 颗

小珠。
Zhēn zhū nǎi chá lǐ yǒu hěn duō hēi sè de xiǎo zhū.
There are many black tapioca pearls in bubble tea.
小珠，。
Tā yòng shǒu niǎn qǐ yì kē xiǎo zhū, chuān zài xiàn shàng.
She picked up a bead with her fingers and threaded it onto the string.
小珠。
Xiǎn wēi jìng xià néng kàn dào xǔ duō wēi xiǎo de xiǎo zhū.
Under the microscope you can see many tiny globules.

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.

小 means small, and 珠 means bead; together they refer to a small bead or globule.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

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

𤣩Written in full as玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

朱

Same sound today

The left side 𤣩, a form of 玉, connects the character to jade, while the right side 朱 gives the sound.