柠 (níng) — (bound morpheme) used in 柠檬 (lemon)

Definition

柠 is a bound morpheme used only inside the word 柠檬 (lemon). It never stands alone — learners will only meet it as part of that compound.

bound form

(bound morpheme) used in 柠檬 (lemon)

。
Wǒ xǐ huan hē níng méng shuǐ.
I like to drink lemon water.
。
Zhè ge níng méng hěn suān.
This lemon is very sour.
。
Tā zài chá lǐ jiā le yí piàn níng méng.
She added a slice of lemon to the tea.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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 檸; 柠 is its simplified writing.

木寧檸

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

寧

寧níng檸

Same sound today

The traditional form 檸 combines 木 (wood) with 寧, which supplies the sound; the simplified 柠 is a later shortened shape.

Appears in