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河豚 (hé tún) — pufferfish, blowfish (Tetraodontidae); (also) river dolphin (Platanistoidea)

Definition

In modern Chinese, 河豚 usually means the pufferfish (famously toxic, a delicacy in Japan). The 'river dolphin' sense exists but is rare; learners will meet this word almost entirely in the pufferfish meaning.

noun
pufferfishblowfish (Tetraodontidae)(also) river dolphin (Platanistoidea)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 河豚，。
    hé tún De gān zàng hán yǒu jù dú, shí yòng bú dàng huì zhì mìng.
    The liver of the pufferfish contains a deadly poison; eating it improperly can be fatal.
  • ，河豚。
    Zài rì běn, hé tún shì yí dào áng guì de liào lǐ.
    In Japan, pufferfish is an expensive dish.
  • 河豚。
    Zhè zhǒng hé tún de pí fū shàng yǒu xǔ duō xiǎo cì.
    This kind of pufferfish has many small spines on its skin.

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.

河hériver
豚túnpiglet

河 gives the river setting, and 豚 compares the plump body to a piglet, forming the name for the pufferfish.

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.

Open 河 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

豚 is made by combining 肉 (meat) and 豕 (pig).

Open 豚 →
Appears in
Fish & Aquatic Life

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