形态学 (xíng tài xué) — morphology (in linguistics, the study of word f…

Definition

noun

morphology (in linguistics, the study of word formation)morphology (in biology, the study of form and structure of organisms)

形态学。
Yǔ yán xué zhōng de xíng tài xué yán jiū cí huì de nèi bù jié gòu.
Morphology in linguistics studies the internal structure of words.
形态学。
Zhí wù xíng tài xué yán jiū zhí wù de gè gè qì guān de xíng tài.
Plant morphology studies the form of various organs in plants.
形态学。
Zhè mén kè zhǔ yào jiǎng shòu xíng tài xué de jī běn lǐ lùn.
This course mainly teaches the basic theories of morphology.

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

形态form and state

联合Side by side

学xuédiscipline

形态 refers to form and state, and 学 indicates a field of study.

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

彡彡shān

Sound part声符shēngfú

井

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

形 is made from 彡 and 井, with 井 providing the sound.

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

太心态

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

太

Same sound today

态 is made of 太, which gives the sound, and 心 (heart).

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.