猛虎 (měng hǔ) — ferocious tiger | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ferocious tiger

Measure word · 只

Examples

猛虎。
Sēn lín lǐ de měng hǔ ràng rén gǎn dào kǒng jù.
The ferocious tiger in the forest makes people feel fear.
猛虎。
Zhè ge xiǎo shuō lǐ miáo xiě le yì zhī xiōng měng de měng hǔ.
This novel describes a fierce tiger.
猛虎，。
měng hǔ Suī rán xiōng měng, dàn zài dòng wù yuán lǐ wǒ men zhǐ néng yuǎn yuǎn de kàn.
Although the tiger is fierce, in the zoo we can only watch from afar.

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.

The “猛” fierce and “虎” tiger give a ferocious tiger.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

孟

Same sound today

猛 pairs 犬 (dog) with 孟, and 孟 gives the sound.

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

虎 originally drew a tiger's head. Its body disappeared, and the legs and tail became the lower part.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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