蝗虫 (huáng chóng) — locust | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

locust

Measure word · 只

Examples

蝗虫。
Zhè xiē huáng chóng bǎ zhuāng jia dōu chī guāng le.
These locusts ate up all the crops.
蝗虫，。
Jīn nián huáng chóng fàn làn, nóng mín sǔn shī hěn dà.
This year locusts are rampant, and farmers have suffered great losses.
蝗虫。
Gǔ dài zhōng guó cháng yǒu huáng chóng zāi de jì zǎi.
Ancient China often had records of locust plagues.

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.

蝗huánglocust

虫chónginsect

蝗 (locust) and 虫 (insect) together name the locust, an insect.

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.

虫皇蝗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

皇

皇huáng蝗huáng

Same sound today

蝗 uses 虫 to mark it as an insect and 皇 to give its sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蟲; 虫 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 蟲 is the one the reference discusses; 虫 is also a traditional character on its own.

Appears in

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