猫头鹰 (māo tóu yīng) — owl | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

owl

Measure word · 只

Examples

猫头鹰。
Zuó tiān wǒ zài gōng yuán lǐ kàn dào le yì zhī māo tóu yīng.
Yesterday I saw an owl in the park.
猫头鹰。
māo tóu yīng Wǎn shàng chū lái zhǎo chī de.
Owls come out at night to find food.
猫头鹰。
Xiǎo péng yǒu dōu xǐ huan tīng guān yú māo tóu yīng de gù shi.
Children all like to hear stories about owls.

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.

猫头cat head

猫māocat头tóuhead

偏正Modifier + head

An 鹰 hawk with a 猫 cat-like 头 head is an owl.

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

苗

苗miáo猫māo

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

猫 puts 犬 beside 苗; 犬 marks the animal sense, and 苗 gives the sound.

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

豆頁頭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

豆dòu頭tóu

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

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

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.

䧹鳥鷹

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.

Appears in

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