(dòu) — beans; peas; legumes

Definition

noun
beanspeaslegumes
Measure word ·

Examples

  • Wǒ měi tiān zǎo shàng dōu hē yì bēi dòu jiāng.
    I drink a cup of soy milk every morning.
  • Zhè zhǒng dòu zi kě yǐ zuò chéng hěn duō zhǒng shí pǐn.
    This kind of bean can be made into many types of food.
  • Nóng mín men zài chūn tiān zhǒng xià dòu zi.
    The farmers plant the beans in spring.

Origin

Pictograph
六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíng

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

豆 originally drew some kind of container. It was borrowed for its sound to write the plant name, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

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