棕 (zōng) — (bound form) palm (tree or fiber); (bound form) brown (color)
Definition
棕 (zōng) is a bound form meaning 'palm (tree or fiber)' or 'brown'; it almost never stands alone and is usually part of a compound like 棕色, 棕榈, or 棕熊.
bound form
palm (tree or fiber)brown (color)
Examples
- 。Wǒ xǐ huan chuān zōng sè de yī fu.I like wearing brown clothes.
- 。Zhè kē zōng lǘ shù hěn gāo.This palm tree is very tall.
- 。Zài dòng wù yuán wǒ kàn dào yì zhī zōng xióng.At the zoo I saw a brown bear.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
㚇
㚇㚇棕zōng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
棕 is built from 木 (wood) and 宗, which gives the sound.
Appears in
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