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红豆 (hóng dòu) — red bean (also called love pea; a symbol of love and longing in Chinese culture)

Definition

Literally 'red bean' — the azuki bean used in sweet dishes like 粥, and a classic poetic symbol of love and longing. The cultural symbol meaning is what makes this word more than just a food term.

noun
red bean (also called love pea; a symbol of love and longing in Chinese culture)
Measure word · 颗

Examples

  • 红豆。
    Wǒ zuì xǐ huan hē hóng dòu zhōu.
    I most like to drink red bean porridge.
  • 红豆。
    Zhè shǒu shī lǐ yòng hóng dòu jì tuō le sī niàn zhī qíng.
    This poem uses red beans to express feelings of longing.
  • 红豆，。
    Tā sòng le wǒ yí chuàn hóng dòu shǒu liàn, dài biǎo wǒ men de yǒu yì.
    She gave me a string of red bean bracelet, representing our friendship.

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.

红hóngred
豆dòubean

红 means red and 豆 means bean; together they name a red bean, also called love pea.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng紅hóng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

Open 红 →

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

豆 originally drew some kind of container. It was borrowed for its sound to write the plant name, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 豆 →
Appears in
Food (General)

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