毒箭 (dú jiàn) — poisoned arrow | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

poisoned arrow

Measure word · 支

毒箭。
Liè rén yòng dú jiàn shè zhòng le yì tóu yě zhū.
The hunter shot a wild boar with a poisoned arrow.
，，毒箭。
Gǔ dài zhàn zhēng zhōng, shì bīng cháng zài jiàn tóu tú dú, zhì chéng dú jiàn.
In ancient warfare, soldiers often coated arrowheads with poison to make poisoned arrows.
毒箭，。
Zhè bǎ dú jiàn de dú xìng jí qiáng, zhōng zhě bì sǐ.
The toxicity of this poisoned arrow is extremely strong; anyone hit will surely die.

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.

毒 gives the idea of poison, and 箭 gives arrow, producing a poisoned arrow.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

屮屮chèvegetation

Sound part声符shēngfú

毐

毐ǎi毒dú

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

毒 pairs 屮, a plant part, with 毐 as a sound part; this form was used for a poisonous plant.

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

竹前箭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

前

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

The 竹 part points to bamboo, the material of arrows; the 前 part gives the sound.