芝 (zhī) — bound morpheme appearing in compounds for sesame, lingzhi mushroom, and transliterations (e.g. 芝士)
Definition
芝 (zhī) is a bound morpheme that only appears inside compounds: 芝麻 (sesame), 灵芝 (lingzhi mushroom), 芝士 (cheese, transliteration). Never used alone.
bound form
bound morpheme appearing in compounds for sesame, lingzhi mushroom, and transliterations (e.g. 芝士)
Easily confused
- 乏fálook-aliketo lack (bound form, in compounds like 缺乏)
- 只zhīsound-alike(classifier) used for one of a pair of animals, objects, or body parts; also for boats, certain containers
- 之zhīsound-alike(literary, possessive particle) equivalent to 的
- 之zhīsound-alike(literary pronoun) him, her, it (used as object)
- 知zhīsound-aliketo know, to be aware
- 支zhīsound-alikeclassifier for long, thin objects (pens, guns), army divisions, and songs/compositions
Examples
- 。Wǒ mǎi le yì píng zhī ma yóu.I bought a bottle of sesame oil.
- 芝。Zhè zhǒng líng zhī hěn yǒu yíng yǎng jià zhí.This type of lingzhi mushroom has great nutritional value.
- 。Tā zuì xǐ huan chī zhī shì dàn gāo.He loves eating cheese cake.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
芝 is built from 艹, a grass form, plus 之 as a sound part; it names a type of plant.
Appears in
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