棉花 (mián huā) — cotton | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

棉花 is the cotton plant itself or its fluffy white fiber. 棉 by itself usually refers to cotton as a material or fabric (棉布, 棉衣).

noun

cotton

Measure word · 朵

Examples

棉花。
Zhè tiáo mián huā tǎn zi hěn nuǎn huo.
This cotton blanket is very warm.
棉花。
Nóng mín zài dì lǐ zhǒng mián huā.
Farmers plant cotton in the fields.
棉花。
Tā xǐ huan chuān mián huā zuò de yī fu.
She likes to wear clothes made of cotton.

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.

棉 refers to cotton and 花 means flower, naming the fluffy cotton flower.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Materials & Substances

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