海鸟 (hǎi diǎo) — seabird | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

seabird

Measure word · 只

Easily confused

海鸟。
Hǎi biān yǒu hěn duō hǎi diǎo zài fēi.
There are many seabirds flying by the seaside.
海鸟。
Zhè zhǒng hǎi diǎo zhǔ yào shēng huó zài tài píng yáng shàng.
This kind of seabird mainly lives in the Pacific Ocean.
海鸟。
Xiǎo péng yǒu men zhèng zài guān chá àn biān qī xī de yì qún hǎi diǎo.
The children are observing a group of seabirds resting on the shore.

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 鸟 means bird, so 海鸟 is a bird associated with the sea.

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

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鳥; 鸟 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鳥 came from a drawing of a bird with a dangling tail; the simplified 鸟 is a later abbreviation.