海牛 (hǎi niú) — manatee, sea cow | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

manateesea cow

Measure word · 只

Examples

海牛。
Wǒ zài dòng wù yuán dì yī cì kàn dào hǎi niú.
I saw a manatee for the first time at the zoo.
海牛。
hǎi niú Shì yì zhǒng wēn hé de hǎi yáng bǔ rǔ dòng wù.
The manatee is a gentle marine mammal.
海牛。
Bǎo hù hǎi niú de qī xī dì fēi cháng zhòng yào.
Protecting the habitat of manatees is very important.

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 means sea and 牛 means cow, so together they name the sea cow or manatee.

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.

氵每海

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.

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

牛 is drawn as a bull's head, with two horns and two ears.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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