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美洲豹 (měi zhōu bào) — cougar, puma

Definition

Note: in Chinese, 美洲豹 usually refers to the cougar/puma (Puma concolor), not the jaguar — the jaguar is 美洲虎. The example 'a large feline good at climbing and swimming' fits the cougar.

noun
cougarpuma
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 美洲豹。
    měi zhōu bào Shì yì zhǒng dà xíng māo kē dòng wù.
    The cougar is a large feline.
  • 美洲豹。
    Dòng wù yuán lǐ yǒu yì zhī měi zhōu bào.
    There is a puma in the zoo.
  • 美洲豹。
    měi zhōu bào Shàn yú pá shù hé yóu yǒng.
    Cougars are good at climbing trees and swimming.

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.

美洲America
美měiAmerica洲zhōucontinent
偏正Modifier + head
豹bàoleopard

美 means America and 洲 means continent, forming 美洲, and 豹 names the cat.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

美 shows 大, a person, wearing 羊, a headdress of feathers or ram's horn.

Open 美 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
州
州zhōu洲zhōu
Same sound today

洲 is built from 水 (water) and 州, which gives the sound.

Open 洲 →

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
豸豸zhìbeast; creature
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo豹bào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

豹 pairs 豸, a mark for a beast or creature, with 勺, which gives the sound.

Open 豹 →
Appears in
Animals & Mammals

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