睡莲 (shuì lián) — water lily (a type of aquatic plant) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

water lily (a type of aquatic plant)

Measure word · 朵

Examples

睡莲。
Chí táng lǐ kāi mǎn le bái sè de shuì lián.
The pond is full of white water lilies in bloom.
睡莲，。
shuì lián De yè zi fú zài shuǐ miàn shàng, fēi cháng piào liang.
The leaves of the water lily float on the water, very beautiful.
睡莲，。
Zhè zhǒng shuì lián zài xià tiān kāi huā, huā qī hěn cháng.
This kind of water lily blooms in summer and has a long flowering period.

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.

睡 suggests sleeping and 莲 names the lotus, so it is the water lily whose flower closes at night.

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.

目垂睡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

目目mùeye

Sound part声符shēngfú

垂

垂chuí睡shuì

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

睡 combines 目, an eye, with 垂, which gives its 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 蓮; 莲 is its simplified writing.

艹連蓮

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

連

連lián蓮lián

Same sound today

The traditional form 蓮 puts the plant mark 艹 above 連, which gives the sound. The simplified 莲 is a later shorthand.

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