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茸毛 (róng máo) — fine hair, down, fuzz

Definition

Fine, soft, downy hair — the fuzzy coating on a duckling, a peach skin, or new spring buds. A concrete, countable noun in scientific/literary register.

noun
fine hairdownfuzz
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 茸毛。
    Xiǎo yā zi de shēn shàng zhǎng mǎn le róng máo.
    The duckling's body is covered with down.
  • 茸毛。
    Zhè zhǒng shuǐ guǒ de biǎo pí yǒu yī céng xì mì de róng máo.
    The skin of this fruit has a layer of fine fuzz.
  • ，茸毛。
    Chūn tiān dào le, shù zhī shàng cháng chū le nèn lǜ de róng máo.
    Spring has arrived, and tender green fuzz has grown on the branches.

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.

茸róngsoft down
毛máohair

茸 suggests soft down, and 毛 is hair, giving fine fuzz.

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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
聰
聰cōng茸
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 茸 combines 艸, a grass part, with 聰, which gives a clue to its sound.

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

毛 is drawn as a feather or hair, with its strokes tracing the shape of the feather or hair.

Open 毛 →
Appears in
Materials & Substances

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