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荞麦 (qiáo mài) — buckwheat

Definition

noun
buckwheat

Examples

  • 荞麦。
    Wǒ xǐ huan chī qiáo mài miàn.
    I like eating buckwheat noodles.
  • 荞麦。
    qiáo mài Shì yì zhǒng jiàn kāng de shí wù.
    Buckwheat is a healthy food.
  • 荞麦。
    Zhè bēi qiáo mài chá hěn hǎo hē.
    This cup of buckwheat tea is very tasty.

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.

荞qiáograin type
麦màicereal

荞 refers to a type of grain, and 麦 to a cereal, so 荞麦 means buckwheat.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蕎; 荞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss, plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
喬
喬qiáo蕎
Same sound today

The traditional form 蕎 pairs 艸 (grass, plant) with 喬 for its sound; the simplified 荞 is a later abbreviation.

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 麥; 麦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夊夊suīfootprint pointing down; to walk slowly
Sound part声符shēngfú
來
來lái麥mài
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 麦, the traditional form 麥 pairs 來, which gives the sound and once meant wheat, with 夊, a footprint pointing down for slow walking.

Open 麦 →
Appears in
Grains & Staples

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