石榴 (shí liu) — pomegranate | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

pomegranate

Measure word · 个

石榴。
Zhè ge shí liu hěn tián.
This pomegranate is very sweet.
石榴。
Wǒ xǐ huan chī shí liu.
I like to eat pomegranates.
石榴。
Qiū tiān shì shí liu chéng shú de jì jié.
Autumn is the season when pomegranates ripen.

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

The characters 石 and 榴 do not carry independent meanings here; together they name the pomegranate.

Sound-only characters

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

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

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

木留榴

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

留

Same sound today

The left side 木 marks a tree, while the right side 留 gives the character its sound.

Appears in