落叶 (luò yè) — fallen leaves; (botany) deciduous leaf | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

fallen leaves(botany) deciduous leaf

Measure word · 片

Examples

，落叶。
Qiū tiān, gōng yuán lǐ mǎn shì jīn huáng sè luò yè.
In autumn, the park is full of golden fallen leaves.
，落叶。
Yí zhèn fēng chuī guò, luò yè zài kōng zhōng fēi wǔ.
A gust of wind blew, and fallen leaves danced in the air.
落叶。
Tā xǐ huan shōu jí gè zhǒng gè yàng de luò yè zuò shū qiān.
She likes to collect all kinds of fallen leaves to make bookmarks.

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.

The 落 sense of falling and the 叶 sense of leaf together mean fallen leaves.

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.

艹洛落

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

洛

洛luò落luò

Same sound today

落 pairs 艹 with 洛; 洛 gives the sound, and 艹 relates to the meaning.

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.

Appears in

Plants & Flowers

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