稻草人 (dào cǎo rén) — scarecrow | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

scarecrow

Measure word · 个

Examples

稻草人。
Tián lǐ yǒu yí gè dào cǎo rén.
There is a scarecrow in the field.
稻草人。
Nóng mín zài tián lǐ fàng le jǐ gè dào cǎo rén lái gǎn niǎo.
The farmer put up a few scarecrows in the field to scare away birds.
，稻草人。
Tā zhàn zài nà r yí dòng bú dòng, xiàng gè dào cǎo rén.
He stood there without moving a muscle, like a scarecrow.

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.

稻草rice straw

稻dàorice草cǎostraw

偏正Modifier + head

稻草 (rice straw) forms a 人 (person), a straw figure.

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.

禾舀稻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hégrain, cereal, rice

Sound part声符shēngfú

舀

舀yǎo稻dào

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

稻 uses 禾, the grain plant, to show its meaning, and 舀 for its sound.

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

艹早草

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

早

早zǎo草cǎo

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

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Appears in

Agriculture & Farming

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