胡萝卜素 (hú luó bo sù) — carotene

Definition

noun
carotene

Examples

  • 胡萝卜素。
    Duō chī hú luó bo kě yǐ bǔ chōng hú luó bo sù.
    Eating more carrots can supplement carotene.
  • 胡萝卜素。
    hú luó bo sù Duì bǎo hù shì lì hěn yǒu bāng zhù.
    Carotene is very helpful for protecting eyesight.
  • 胡萝卜素。
    Hěn duō huáng sè shū cài dōu hán yǒu fēng fù de hú luó bo sù.
    Many yellow vegetables are rich in carotene.

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.

胡萝卜
胡hú萝luó卜bǔ
素sùsubstance

胡萝卜 names the carrot, and 素 denotes the substance, giving the carrot pigment.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ胡hú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

胡 combines 古, which points to its sound, with ⺼ (肉), meaning meat or flesh.

Open 胡 →

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 蘿; 萝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
羅
羅luó蘿luó
Same sound today

The traditional form 蘿 combines 艸 (plants) with 羅, which shows the pronunciation; the simplified 萝 is a later shorthand.

Open 萝 →

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

卜 is thought to come from the shape of a crack in an oracle bone, which was used for predicting the future.

Open 卜 →

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

The shape of 素 came from a picture of hands braiding thread.

Open 素 →

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