梅花鹿 (méi huā lù) — sika deer | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

sika deer

Measure word · 只

Examples

梅花鹿。
Wǒ zài dòng wù yuán kàn dào le yì zhī méi huā lù.
I saw a sika deer at the zoo.
梅花鹿。
méi huā lù De pí máo shàng yǒu bái sè de bān diǎn.
The sika deer's fur has white spots.
梅花鹿。
Zhè zhǒng méi huā lù shēng huó zài sēn lín lǐ.
This kind of sika deer lives in the forest.

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.

梅花

梅méiplum花huāflower

偏正Modifier + head

Plum-blossom deer: 梅花 describes the spotted pattern, and 鹿 names the animal.

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.

木每梅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

每měi梅méi

Same sound today

梅 is built from 木 (tree) and 每, which gives the sound; it is used for the plum tree.

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.

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

鹿 is a picture of a deer, with antlers, head, mouth, and bent legs; in the current form these parts are abstracted.

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