猪崽 (zhū zǎi) — piglet | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

piglet

Measure word · 只

Easily confused

猪崽。
Zhè zhī zhū zǎi hěn kě ài.
This piglet is very cute.
猪崽。
Nóng mín yǎng le shí zhī zhū zǎi.
The farmer raised ten piglets.
猪崽。
zhū zǎi Zài zhū mā ma páng biān shuì jiào.
The piglet sleeps next to its mother.

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.

崽zǎiyoung animal

猪 'pig' + 崽 'young animal' gives piglet.

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.

犭者猪

Meaning part形符xíngfú

犭Written in full as犬quǎndog

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

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

猪 combines 犭, a dog sign, with 者 as a sound part.

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

山思崽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

山山shānmountain

Sound part声符shēngfú

思

思sī崽zǎi

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

崽 pairs 山 (mountain) with 思; 思 gives the sound, and 山 gives the meaning clue.