肉桂 (ròu guì) — cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia, Chinese cassia) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia, Chinese cassia)

Examples

肉桂。
Wǒ xǐ huan zài kā fēi lǐ jiā yì diǎn ròu guì.
I like to add a little cinnamon to my coffee.
肉桂。
Zhè zhǒng ròu guì chǎn zì zhōng guó nán fāng.
This cinnamon is produced in southern China.
肉桂。
ròu guì Zài zhōng yī lǐ cháng yòng yú qū hán.
Cinnamon is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to dispel cold.

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.

桂guìcinnamon

肉 suggests fleshy bark, and 桂 names cinnamon; together it is Chinese cinnamon.

Characters in this word

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

The original shape of 肉 showed ribs of an animal’s torso, or simply a slice of meat.

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

木圭桂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

圭

圭guī桂guì

Same sound today

桂 is built from 木, a tree, and 圭, which points to its sound.

Appears in

Flavors & Seasonings

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