蜂群 (fēng qún) — bee colony; swarm of bees

Definition

noun
bee colonyswarm of bees
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 蜂群
    Nà ge yǎng fēng rén guǎn lǐ le sān gè fēng qún.
    That beekeeper manages three bee colonies.
  • 蜂群
    fēng qún Zài chūn tiān huì fēn jiā xíng chéng xīn de qún tǐ.
    A bee colony will split in spring to form a new group.
  • 蜂群
    Tū rán chū xiàn de fēng qún ràng yóu kè bù gǎn kào jìn.
    The sudden swarm of bees made tourists afraid to approach.

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.

qúngroup/swarm

蜂群 is a 群 'group/swarm' of 蜂 'bees', hence a bee colony.

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
chónginsect
Sound part声符shēngfú
pángfēng
Same sound today

蜂 puts 虫, showing an insect, beside 夆, which gives its sound.

Open 蜂 →

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

群 pairs 羊, a sheep, to point to a herd or group, with 君 giving the sound.

Open 群 →
Appears in

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