河狸 (hé lí) — beaver (the aquatic rodent) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

beaver (the aquatic rodent)

Measure word · 只

Examples

河狸。
hé lí Shì yì zhǒng shēng huó zài hé liú lǐ de bǔ rǔ dòng wù.
The beaver is a mammal that lives in rivers.
河狸，。
hé lí Yòng shù zhī hé ní tǔ jiàn zào shuǐ bà, gǎi biàn zhōu wéi huán jìng.
Beavers build dams with branches and mud, altering the surrounding environment.
，河狸。
Yóu yú pí máo hé xiàn tǐ de jià zhí, céng jīng yǒu rén dà liàng bǔ shā hé lí.
Due to the value of their fur and glands, beavers were once heavily hunted.

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.

狸lícat-like animal

河 names the river and 狸 gives a cat-like animal, together the beaver.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

何

何hé河hé

Same sound today

河 pairs 水 (water) with 何, which gives the sound. The 水 part marks it as a word for a river.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

Same sound today

狸 pairs 犬, a dog, with 里, which gives the sound.

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