海螺 (hǎi luó) — conch; sea snail (especially large spiral-shelled species)

Definition

noun
conchsea snail (especially large spiral-shelled species)
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 海螺。
    Wǒ zài hǎi biān jiǎn dào le yí gè piào liang de hǎi luó.
    I found a beautiful conch at the seaside.
  • 海螺，。
    Zhè dào cài shì yòng hǎi luó zuò de, wèi dào hěn xiān měi.
    This dish is made with conch; it tastes very delicious.
  • 海螺，。
    Tā bǎ hǎi luó fàng zài ěr biān, tīng dào le dà hǎi de shēng yīn.
    He put the conch to his ear and heard the sound of the ocean.

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
螺luósnail

海, 'sea', with 螺, 'snail', names a sea conch.

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
虫虫chóng
Sound part声符shēngfú
累
累lèi螺luó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

螺 combines 虫, a part associated with creatures, with 累, which gives the sound.

Open 螺 →

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