蕉 (jiāo) — (bound morpheme) banana, plantain (in compounds like 香蕉, 芭蕉)
Definition
A bound morpheme meaning 'banana / plantain plant' that only appears inside compounds such as 香蕉 (xiāngjiāo, banana) and 芭蕉 (bājiāo, plantain). On its own it is not used as a standalone word.
bound form
(bound morpheme) bananaplantain (in compounds like 香蕉, 芭蕉)
Examples
- 。Wǒ měi tiān dōu yào chī yì gēn xiāng jiāo.I need to eat a banana every day.
- 蕉。Bā jiāo hé xiāng jiāo kàn qǐ lái hěn xiàng.Plantains and bananas look very similar.
- 。Zhè zhǒng xiāng jiāo yòu dà yòu tián.This kind of banana is big and sweet.
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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
蕉 uses 艹 to show it is a plant, and 焦 to give the pronunciation.
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