谷草 (gǔ cǎo) — millet straw; rice straw (as material for fodder or bedding)

Definition

Refers to grain straw in general — the dried stalks left after harvesting millet or rice. Used as fodder, bedding, or thatching material, not as a food.

noun
millet strawrice straw (as material for fodder or bedding)
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 谷草。
    Nóng mín bǎ gǔ cǎo shài gān hòu yòng lái wèi niú.
    The farmers dry the millet straw in the sun and then use it to feed cattle.
  • 谷草。
    Zhè zhǒng gǔ cǎo kě yǐ yòng lái zuò chuáng diàn.
    This kind of rice straw can be used to make mattresses.
  • 谷草。
    Gǔ dài de wū dǐng cháng yòng gǔ cǎo pū chéng.
    Ancient roofs were often thatched with grain straw.

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.

谷gǔgrain
草cǎostraw

谷 means grain, and 草 means straw or grass; together they name grain straw.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 谷 comes from a picture of a valley: an opening between two near-parallel lines for mountain walls.

Open 谷 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
早
早zǎo草cǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Open 草 →

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