狗鱼 (gǒu yú) — pike (fish)

Definition

noun
pike (fish)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 狗鱼。
    Hú lǐ yǒu jǐ tiáo dà gǒu yú.
    There are several big pike in the lake.
  • 狗鱼。
    Wǒ jīn tiān mǎi le yì tiáo gǒu yú.
    I bought a pike today.
  • 狗鱼。
    Mā ma bǎ gǒu yú zuò chéng le tāng.
    Mom turned the pike into soup.

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.

狗gǒudog
鱼yúfish

“狗” and “鱼” combine to name a fish, as in dogfish.

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
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù狗gǒu
Same sound today

狗 combines 犬, meaning dog, with 句, which gives the sound.

Open 狗 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 魚; 鱼 is its simplified writing.

For 鱼, the traditional form 魚 is a picture of a fish.

Open 鱼 →

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