歉收 (qiàn shōu) — to have a poor harvest; crop failure

Definition

歉收 specifically means a poor harvest or crop failure, used in formal and agricultural contexts. It contrasts with 丰收 (bountiful harvest).

verb

to have a poor harvestcrop failure

，歉收。
Jīn nián yīn wèi gān hàn, hěn duō dì fāng dōu qiàn shōu le.
This year, due to drought, many places had a poor harvest.
歉收，。
Tā men jiā de dào tián qiàn shōu le, shōu cheng jiǎn shǎo le yí bàn.
Their paddy field had a crop failure, and the yield was cut in half.
歉收。
Lián xù sān nián qiàn shōu ràng nóng mín men fēi cháng fā chóu.
Three consecutive years of poor harvests made the farmers very worried.

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.

歉qiàndeficient

歉 means deficient and 收 means harvest, giving a harvest that falls short.

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.

兼欠歉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

欠欠qiànperson with mouth open

Sound part声符shēngfú

兼

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

歉 uses 兼 for its sound; 兼 is drawn as a hand holding two crop plants. It also uses 欠, a person with mouth open, to show feeling hunger after eating.

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攴攴pū

Sound part声符shēngfú

丩

丩jiū收shōu

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

收 uses 攴 to show an action and 丩 as a sound clue; the old meaning was 'to arrest.'