水饺 (shuǐ jiǎo) — boiled dumpling

Definition

水饺 are dumplings that are boiled — the everyday default dumpling in northern China. 饺子 alone can be boiled, steamed, or pan-fried; 水饺 specifies the boiled form, as opposed to 蒸饺 or 煎饺.

noun
boiled dumpling
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 水饺。
    Wǒ mā ma zuò de shuǐ jiǎo hěn hǎo chī.
    My mom's boiled dumplings are delicious.
  • 水饺。
    Zhè jiā diàn de shuǐ jiǎo pí báo xiàn duō.
    This restaurant's boiled dumplings have thin skin and lots of filling.
  • 。
    Dōng tiān chī yì wǎn rè shuǐ jiǎo hěn nuǎn huo.
    Eating a bowl of hot boiled dumplings in winter is very warming.

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.

水shuǐwater
饺jiǎodumpling

水 is water and 饺 is a dumpling, together a dumpling cooked in water.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 餃; 饺 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
飠Written in full as食shífood, eat
Sound part声符shēngfú
交
交jiāo餃jiǎo
Same sound today

The traditional form 餃 uses 飠 to show food and 交 for sound; the modern 饺 is a shortened form.

Open 饺 →

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