蝙蝠 (biān fú) — bat (the flying mammal)

Definition

noun

bat (the flying mammal)

Measure word · 只

蝙蝠。
Shān dòng lǐ zhù zhe hěn duō biān fú.
Many bats live in the cave.
蝙蝠。
biān fú Zài yè wǎn chū lái xún zhǎo shí wù.
Bats come out at night to look for food.
蝙蝠。
Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū biān fú de fēi xíng fāng shì.
Scientists are studying the flight patterns of bats.

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

蝙biān

蝠fú

“蝙” and “蝠” carry no separate meaning here; together they name the animal bat.

Sound-only characters

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

虫畐蝠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

畐

畐fú蝠fú

Same sound today

蝠 pairs 虫, showing a creature, with 畐 giving the sound. An older picture of a bat is not the source of this character.

Appears in