葱 (cōng) — scallion, green onion
Definition
葱 is scallion/green onion, a long white-stemmed allium used as an aromatic in cooking. Pairs with 姜 and 蒜 (garlic) as the classic stir-fry trio; 蒜 is a bulb of cloves, not a stalk.
noun
scalliongreen onion
Measure word · 根
Examples
- 葱。Tāng lǐ sā yì diǎn cōng huā gèng hǎo chī.Sprinkling some chopped scallion on the soup makes it tastier.
- 葱。Chǎo cài shí xiān fàng cōng jiāng suàn bào xiāng.When stir-frying, first add scallion, ginger, and garlic to release the fragrance.
- 葱，。Wǒ mǎi le wǔ máo qián de cōng, gòu yòng le.I bought fifty cents worth of scallions — that's enough.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
怱
怱cōng葱cōng
Same sound today
葱 pairs 艸, the grass sign, with 怱, which supplies the sound.
Appears in
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