山药 (shān yao) — Chinese yam (Dioscorea polystachya)

Definition

noun
Chinese yam (Dioscorea polystachya)
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 山药。
    Wǒ mā ma jīng cháng yòng shān yao dùn pái gǔ tāng.
    My mother often stews pork ribs soup with Chinese yam.
  • 山药，。
    shān yao De yíng yǎng jià zhí hěn gāo, shì hé lǎo nián rén chī.
    Chinese yam has high nutritional value and is suitable for elderly people to eat.
  • 山药，。
    Zhè dào cài shì qīng chǎo shān yao, kǒu gǎn hěn cuì.
    This dish is stir-fried Chinese yam, and it has a very crispy texture.

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.

山shānmountain
药yàomedicine

The 山 part means mountain, and 药 names medicine; together they give the mountain yam.

Characters in this word

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

山 shows three mountain peaks side by side.

Open 山 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 藥; 药 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
樂
樂lè藥yào
Same sound today

In the traditional form 藥, 艹 shows grass and 樂 gives the sound; this story is about 藥, not about the simplified 药.

Open 药 →

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