癞蛤蟆 (lài há ma) — toad | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A rough, warty toad — literally 'mangy toad'. Famous from the idiom 癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉 ('a toad wanting to eat swan meat'), meaning someone aiming far above their station.

noun

toad

Measure word · 只

Examples

癞蛤蟆。
Wǒ kàn dào yì zhī lài há ma zài chí táng biān.
I saw a toad by the pond.
癞蛤蟆，。
lài há ma Cháng dé bù hǎo kàn, dàn chī hài chóng.
Toads look ugly, but they eat pests.
癞蛤蟆。
Tā zhēn shì lài há ma xiǎng chī tiān é ròu.
He really is like a toad wanting to eat swan meat (i.e., biting off more than he can chew).

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.

癞làiscabby

蛤蟆toad

癞 adds a warty sense to 蛤蟆, the word for a toad.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 癩; 癞 is its simplified writing.

疒賴癩

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nè

Sound part声符shēngfú

賴

賴lài癩lài

Same sound today

In the traditional form 癩, 疒 marks illness and 賴 gives the sound; 癞 is the simplified form.

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

虫合蛤

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

合

合hé蛤gé

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

蛤 uses 虫 to show it is a creature and 合 to give the sound.

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

虫莫蟆

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

莫

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

蟆 combines 虫 with 莫; the 莫 part gives the sound.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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