桂花 (guì huā) — osmanthus flower; Osmanthus fragrans | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A small, very fragrant yellow-orange flower used in Chinese food and tea (桂花糕, 桂花茶). Blooming in autumn, it is strongly tied to Mid-Autumn / autumn imagery in Chinese culture.

noun

osmanthus flowerOsmanthus fragrans

Measure word · 朵

Examples

，桂花。
Qiū tiān de shí hou, guì huā de xiāng wèi hěn nóng.
In autumn, the fragrance of osmanthus flowers is very strong.
桂花。
Mā ma xǐ huan yòng guì huā zuò guì huā gāo.
Mom likes to make osmanthus cakes using osmanthus flowers.
桂花，。
Wǒ mǎi le yì píng guì huā chá, hěn hǎo hē.
I bought a bottle of osmanthus tea, and it tastes great.

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.

桂guìosmanthus

“桂” names the cassia or osmanthus plant, and “花” means flower; together they name osmanthus flowers.

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.

木圭桂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

圭

圭guī桂guì

Same sound today

桂 is built from 木, a tree, and 圭, which points to its sound.

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

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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