白兰 (bái lán) — white orchid (Michelia alba) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A specific fragrant white flowering tree (Michelia alba), used in tea and perfumes. It's a whole plant/tree, not a cut flower — measure word 棵 for the tree, 朵 for its blossoms.

noun

white orchid (Michelia alba)

Measure word · 朵

Examples

白兰。
Zhè duǒ bái lán hěn xiāng.
This white orchid is very fragrant.
白兰。
Tā xǐ huan yòng bái lán pào chá.
She likes to make tea with white orchid.
白兰。
Huā yuán lǐ zhǒng le jǐ kē bái lán.
Several white orchid trees are planted in the garden.

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.

白 gives the color white, and 兰 names the orchid, so the plant is a white orchid.

Characters in this word

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

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 蘭; 兰 is its simplified writing.

艹闌蘭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant

Sound part声符shēngfú

闌

闌lán蘭lán

Same sound today

In the traditional form 蘭, 艹 marks it as a plant and 闌 stands for the sound; the simplified 兰 is a later shorthand, not the original parts.

Appears in

Plants & Flowers

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