芦笋 (lú sǔn) — asparagus | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

asparagus

Measure word · 根

Examples

芦笋。
Wǒ zuó tiān zài chāo shì mǎi le yì jīn lú sǔn.
I bought a jin of asparagus at the supermarket yesterday.
芦笋。
Qīng chǎo lú sǔn shì yí dào hěn jiàn kāng de cài.
Stir-fried asparagus is a very healthy dish.
芦笋？
Nǐ xǐ huan chī lú sǔn hái shì xī lán huā?
Do you like eating asparagus or broccoli?

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.

“芦” is reed and “笋” is shoot, giving a reed-like young shoot.

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.

艹户芦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant

Sound part声符shēngfú

户

户hù芦lú

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

芦 combines 艹, the plant marker, with 户, which gives the sound.

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 筍; 笋 is its simplified writing.

竹旬筍

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

旬

旬xún筍sǔn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 筍, 竹 points to bamboo and 旬 gives the sound; the simplified 笋 is only a later shorthand.

Appears in

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