草叶 (cǎo xié) — grass leaf; blade of grass

Definition

noun

grass leafblade of grass

Measure word · 片

Easily confused

，草叶。
Yí zhèn fēng chuī guò, cǎo xié qīng qīng yáo bǎi.
A gust of wind blew, and the grass blades swayed gently.
草叶。
Lù zhū zài cǎo xié shàng shǎn shǎn fā guāng.
Dewdrops sparkled on the grass leaves.
草叶。
Niú zài tián yě lǐ chī cǎo xié.
The cow is eating grass leaves in the field.

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.

Grass plus leaf forms a blade or leaf of grass.

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.

艹早草

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

早

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

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

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

口十叶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

十

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 叶 pairs 口 (mouth) with 十 (ten) as an old form meaning cooperate; it later came to mean leaf because it sounded similar.