荷叶 (hé yè) — lotus leaf | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

lotus leaf

Measure word · 片

Easily confused

合叶hé yèsound-alikehinge

Examples

荷叶。
Chí táng lǐ yǒu xǔ duō hé yè.
There are many lotus leaves in the pond.
荷叶。
Yǔ hòu de hé yè shàng gǔn dòng zhe jīng yíng de shuǐ zhū.
After the rain, crystal-clear water droplets roll on the lotus leaves.
荷叶，。
hé yè Kě yǐ yòng lái bāo guǒ shí wù, zēng tiān qīng xiāng.
Lotus leaves can be used to wrap food, adding a fragrant aroma.

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.

荷 names the plant and 叶 names the leaf, so it is the leaf of a lotus.

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; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

何

何hé荷hé

Same sound today

荷 has 艸, the grass/plant form, to show a plant, and 何 to give the sound.

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.

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