粟 (sù) — millet; a Chinese surname

Definition

noun
milleta Chinese surname
Measure word · 颗
Easily confused

Examples

  • 粟。
    Běi fāng nóng mín pǔ biàn zhòng zhí sù zhè zhǒng zuò wù.
    Northern farmers widely grow this crop, millet.
  • 粟。
    sù Xiān sheng shì yí wèi lì shǐ xué jiā.
    Mr. Su is a historian.
  • 粟。
    Gǔ dài rén cháng yǐ sù wéi zhǔ shí.
    Ancient people often used millet as their staple food.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
角
角jiǎo粟sù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

粟 shows 米 (rice) together with 角, which gave the sound. In ancient use it meant rice kernels with husk, while 米 meant rice without husk.

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