布谷鸟 (bù gǔ niǎo) — cuckoo (Cercococcyx spp.)

Definition

noun

cuckoo (Cercococcyx spp.)

Measure word · 只

布谷鸟。
Chūn tiān cháng cháng néng tīng dào bù gǔ niǎo de jiào shēng.
In spring, you can often hear the cuckoo's call.
布谷鸟，。
bù gǔ niǎo Shì yì zhǒng hòu niǎo, dōng tiān huì fēi wǎng nán fāng.
The cuckoo is a migratory bird that flies south in winter.
布谷鸟。
Lǎo jiā de shù shàng zhù zhe yì zhī bù gǔ niǎo.
There is a cuckoo living in the tree at my hometown.

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.

布谷cuckoo

拟声Onomatopoeia

布谷 imitates the cuckoo's call, and 鸟 gives the bird sense.

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

巾巾jīnkerchief

Sound part声符shēngfú

父

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

布 pairs 巾, a kerchief, with 父 as a sound part.

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

The shape of 谷 comes from a picture of a valley: an opening between two near-parallel lines for mountain walls.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鳥; 鸟 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鳥 came from a drawing of a bird with a dangling tail; the simplified 鸟 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in