浇水 (jiāo shuǐ) — to water (plants, flowers, etc.)

Definition

A verb-object phrase: 给 plants/flowers water. Translates most naturally as 'to water (plants)' — not 'to pour water', which would be 倒水.

verb

to water (plants, flowers, etc.)

浇水。
Wǒ měi tiān zǎo shàng gěi huā jiāo shuǐ.
I water the flowers every morning.
？
Nǐ gěi yuàn zi lǐ de shù jiāo guò shuǐ le ma?
Have you watered the trees in the yard?
。
Zhè xiē zhí wù xū yào měi tiān jiāo yí cì shuǐ.
These plants need to be watered once a day.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

浇jiāopour water

浇 means to pour and 水 means water, together describing pouring water onto plants.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 澆; 浇 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

堯

堯yáo澆jiāo

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

The traditional form 澆 pairs 水 (water) with 堯 as a sound part; the simplified 浇 is a shorthand.

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Appears in