斑马 (bān mǎ) — zebra | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

zebra

Measure word · 匹

Examples

斑马。
Dòng wù yuán lǐ yǒu sān zhī bān mǎ.
There are three zebras in the zoo.
斑马。
bān mǎ Shēn shàng yǒu yì tiáo tiáo hēi bái xiāng jiàn de tiáo wén.
Zebras have black-and-white stripes on their bodies.
斑马。
Hái zi men zuì xǐ huan kàn bān mǎ le.
Children like watching zebras the most.

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.

斑 (stripe) describes the 马 (horse), naming the striped horse, i.e., zebra.

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

文文wénpattern

Sound part声符shēngfú

班

班bān斑bān

Same sound today

斑 uses 文 to show a pattern and 班 to give its sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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