苜蓿 (mù xu) — alfalfa, lucerne (Medicago sativa)

Definition

noun

alfalfalucerne (Medicago sativa)

苜蓿。
Nóng mín zài tián lǐ zhǒng le xǔ duō mù xu.
The farmers planted a lot of alfalfa in the fields.
苜蓿。
Niú hěn xǐ huan chī xīn xiān de mù xu.
Cows really like to eat fresh alfalfa.
苜蓿。
Zhè piàn mù xu cháng dé fēi cháng mào shèng.
This patch of alfalfa is growing very lushly.

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

苜mù

蓿xu

苜 and 蓿 carry no meaning alone; together they name alfalfa.

Sound-only characters

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

艹目苜

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

目

Same sound today

苜 uses 艹 to show it is a plant and 目 to give its sound.

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

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

宿

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

蓿 pairs 艸 (grass) with 宿, which gives its sound.

Appears in