花生米 (huā shēng mǐ) — shelled peanut; peanut kernel

Definition

noun

shelled peanutpeanut kernel

Measure word · 颗

，花生米。
Tā yì biān hē jiǔ, yì biān chī huā shēng mǐ.
He drinks alcohol while eating peanuts.
花生米，。
Mā ma mǎi le yí dài huā shēng mǐ, zhǔn bèi zuò huā shēng jiàng.
Mom bought a bag of peanuts to make peanut butter.
花生米。
Zhè pán huā shēng mǐ chǎo dé hěn xiāng.
This plate of peanuts is stir-fried very fragrant.

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.

花生peanut

主谓Subject + predicate

"花生" names the peanut and "米" suggests a small kernel, together mean peanut kernel.

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.

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

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

米 is a picture of rice kernels without husk, with the horizontal stroke as a bamboo sieve. It is unrelated to similar-looking grain characters.