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火种 (huǒ chóng) — (noun) tinder, source of fire; embers kept for lighting new fires; (noun/verb) slash-and-burn agriculture, fire-fallow cultivation

Definition

Literally 'fire seed,' 火种 is the spark or embers kept to start a new fire — also used metaphorically for the originating spark of a movement or idea. The slash-and-burn sense refers to the agricultural practice of using fire to clear fields.

noun
tindersource of fireembers kept for lighting new fires(noun/verb) slash-and-burn agriculturefire-fallow cultivation

Examples

  • 火种。
    Tā yòng gān cǎo bǎo liú le huǒ chóng.
    He preserved the fire source with dry grass.
  • 火种。
    Zhè běn shū shì gé mìng sī xiǎng de huǒ chóng.
    This book is the spark of revolutionary thought.
  • 火种。
    Tā men yòng huǒ chóng de fāng fǎ kāi kěn tǔ dì.
    They used slash-and-burn methods to clear land.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

火huǒburn
种zhǒngplant

火种 pairs 火 burn and 种 plant, describing cultivation by burning and planting.

Characters in this word

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

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

Open 火 →

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
禾禾hérice
Sound part声符shēngfú
中
中zhōng种zhǒng
Same sound today

种 pairs 禾, which shows rice or grain and fits meanings like plant and seed, with 中, which gives its sound.

Open 种 →
Appears in
Agriculture & FarmingMaterials & Substances

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