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田鼠 (tián shǔ) — field mouse; vole

Definition

A small mouse-like rodent that lives in fields and farmlands. Different from the common 老鼠 of houses: 田鼠 is wild, smaller, and often a pest to crops.

noun
field mousevole
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 田鼠。
    Tián yě lǐ yǒu hěn duō tián shǔ.
    There are many field mice in the fields.
  • 田鼠。
    Zhè zhǒng tián shǔ xǐ huan chī zhuāng jia.
    This kind of field mouse likes to eat crops.
  • 田鼠。
    Māo zhuā dào le yì zhī tián shǔ.
    The cat caught a field mouse.

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.

田tiánfield
鼠shǔmouse

田 field specifies the habitat of 鼠, a mouse.

Characters in this word

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

田 looks like a field divided into four sections.

Open 田 →

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

The shape of 鼠 pictures a rat: the upper part looks like an open mouth with teeth, while the lower part shows two feet on the left and a tail on the right.

Open 鼠 →
Appears in
Animals & Mammals

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