山雀 (shān qiāo) — tit; titmouse (a small passerine bird of the family Paridae)

Definition

noun
tittitmouse (a small passerine bird of the family Paridae)
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 山雀。
    Gōng yuán lǐ yǒu yì zhī shān qiāo zài shù shàng chàng gē.
    There is a tit singing in the tree in the park.
  • 山雀。
    Zhè zhǒng shān qiāo de yǔ máo shì huī lán sè de.
    The feathers of this kind of tit are grayish blue.
  • ，山雀。
    Dōng tiān de shí hou, hěn duō shān qiāo huì lái wǒ de yuàn zi lǐ zhǎo shí wù.
    In winter, many tits come to my yard to look for food.

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
雀quèsmall bird

山 means mountain and 雀 means small bird, so 山雀 names a tit or titmouse, a small bird of the mountains.

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 →

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

雀 combines 小 (small) and 隹 (bird), showing a small bird, a sparrow.

Open 雀 →

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