燕麦 (yàn mài) — oats | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

oats

Measure word · 种

Examples

燕麦。
Wǒ měi tiān zǎo shàng chī yì wǎn yàn mài.
I eat a bowl of oats every morning.
燕麦。
Tā zài chāo shì mǎi le yí dài yàn mài.
She bought a bag of oats at the supermarket.
燕麦。
yàn mài Duì jiàn kāng hěn yǒu hǎo chù.
Oats are very good for your health.

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.

燕yànswallow

燕麦 combines 燕 swallow and 麦 grain, a type of grain named after the swallow.

Characters in this word

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

燕 comes from a picture of a swallow.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 麥; 麦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

夊夊suīfootprint pointing down; to walk slowly

Sound part声符shēngfú

來

來lái麥mài

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 麦, the traditional form 麥 pairs 來, which gives the sound and once meant wheat, with 夊, a footprint pointing down for slow walking.

Appears in

Grains & Staples

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