白鸽 (bái gē) — white pigeon; white dove

Definition

noun

white pigeonwhite dove

Measure word · 只

白鸽。
Wǒ kàn dào yì zhī bái gē zài gōng yuán lǐ.
I saw a white pigeon in the park.
白鸽。
bái gē Shì hé píng de xiàng zhēng.
White doves are a symbol of peace.
白鸽。
Tā yǎng le yì zhī bái gē.
She raised a white dove.

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 and 鸽 combine to name a white pigeon or dove.

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 鴿; 鸽 is its simplified writing.

合鳥鴿

Meaning part形符xíngfú

鳥鳥niǎobird

Sound part声符shēngfú

合

Same sound today

The traditional form 鴿 pairs 鳥, meaning bird, with 合, which gives the sound; the simplified 鸽 is a later shorthand.