葵花籽 (kuí huā zǐ) — sunflower seeds

Definition

noun
sunflower seeds
Measure word · 颗

Examples

  • ，葵花籽。
    Tā yì biān kàn diàn shì, yì biān kè kuí huā zǐ.
    He watches TV while eating sunflower seeds.
  • 葵花籽。
    Chāo shì lǐ de kuí huā zǐ yǒu hǎo jǐ zhǒng kǒu wèi.
    There are several flavors of sunflower seeds in the supermarket.
  • 葵花籽。
    Tā mǎi le yí dài kuí huā zǐ zhǔn bèi zài lù shang chī.
    She bought a bag of sunflower seeds to eat on the way.

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.

葵花sunflower
葵kuísunflower花huāflower
偏正Modifier + head
籽zǐseed

葵花 and 籽 combine to mean the seed of a sunflower.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss, plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
癸
癸guǐ葵kuí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

葵 uses 艹 (grass, plant) to show it is a kind of plant and 癸 to give its sound.

Open 葵 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
化
化huà花
Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Open 花 →

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
米米mǐrice; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
子
子zǐ籽zǐ(r)
Same sound today

籽 combines 米 (rice; grain) with 子, which shows how it is pronounced.

Open 籽 →

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