蛋 (dàn) — egg | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

egg

Measure word · 个

蛋。
Měi tiān zǎo shàng wǒ chī yí gè dàn.
I eat an egg every morning.
蛋。
Zhè ge dàn shì yuán de.
This egg is round.
蛋。
Mǔ qīn zài bīng xiāng lǐ fàng le hěn duō dàn.
Mother put many eggs in the fridge.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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

虫虫chóngsnake, insect

Sound part声符shēngfú

延

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 蛋, the lower part 虫 is a snake or insect, and the upper part is a shortened 延 giving the sound for 'egg'.

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