海味 (hǎi wèi) — seafood

Definition

noun
seafood
Easily confused

Examples

  • 海味。
    Wǒ jīn tiān zài shì chǎng mǎi le yì xiē hǎi wèi.
    I bought some seafood at the market today.
  • 海味。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de hǎi wèi zuò dé fēi cháng hǎo chī.
    The seafood at this restaurant is very delicious.
  • 海味。
    Wǒ zuì xǐ huan de hǎi wèi shì xiā hé páng xiè.
    My favorite seafood is shrimp and crabs.

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.

海hǎisea
味wèiflavor

海 means sea and 味 means flavor, so 海味 refers to things with the taste of the sea, i.e. seafood.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi海hǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Open 海 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
未
未wèi味wèi
Same sound today

味 combines 口 (mouth) with 未, which gives the sound wèi; the mouth part relates to taste.

Open 味 →

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