螺 (luó) — (bound form) spiral; whorl (as in 螺旋, 指纹螺); (bound form) snail; conch (as in 螺蛳, 海螺); (bound form) screw (as in 螺丝)
Definition
A bound (combining) morph meaning 'spiral/snail', almost always seen inside compounds like 螺旋 (spiral), 海螺 (conch), or 螺丝 (screw). On its own it does not stand as an independent word.
bound form
spiralwhorl (as in 螺旋, 指纹螺)snailconch (as in 螺蛳, 海螺)screw (as in 螺丝)
Examples
- 。Zhè ge luó sī dīng tài cháng le.This screw is too long.
- 。Lóu tī shì luó xuán xíng de.The staircase is spiral-shaped.
- 。Hǎi luó de ké hěn piào liang.The shell of the conch is very beautiful.
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.
螺 combines 虫, a part associated with creatures, with 累, which gives the sound.
Appears in
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