狐皮 (hú pí) — fox skin | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

fox skin

Measure word · 张

狐皮。
Zhè jiàn dà yī shì hú pí zuò de.
This coat is made of fox fur.
狐皮。
Tā zài shì chǎng shàng mǎi le yì zhāng hú pí.
He bought a fox skin at the market.
狐皮，。
hú pí Hěn guì, yīn wèi hú li yuè lái yuè shǎo.
Fox skin is very expensive because foxes are becoming fewer.

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.

狐 'fox' specifies whose 皮 'skin' is meant.

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.

犭瓜狐

Meaning part形符xíngfú

犭Written in full as犬quǎndog

Sound part声符shēngfú

瓜

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

狐 uses 犭, the dog sign, to mark it as an animal, and 瓜 to give the sound.

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.