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猎鹰 (liè yīng) — falcon

Definition

noun
falcon
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 猎鹰。
    Zhè zhī liè yīng fēi dé hěn kuài.
    This falcon flies very fast.
  • 猎鹰。
    Gǔ rén yòng liè yīng lái dǎ liè.
    Ancient people used falcons for hunting.
  • 猎鹰。
    liè yīng Shì yì zhǒng měng qín.
    The falcon is a type of raptor.

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.

猎lièhunting
鹰yīnghawk

猎 (hunting) tells what kind of 鹰 (hawk) is meant: a falcon used for hunting.

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

In 猎, the left part 犬 means dog and the right part 昔 provides the sound.

Open 猎 →

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 鷹; 鹰 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鳥鳥niǎobird
Sound part声符shēngfú
䧹
䧹䧹鷹yīng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鷹 combines 鳥 (bird) with 䧹, which gives the sound.

Open 鹰 →
Appears in
Birds

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