豆瓣 (dòu bàn) — (noun) fermented broad bean paste (豆瓣酱), a staple ingredient in Sichuan cooking; (noun) Douban, a Chinese social networking and review website (douban.com)

Definition

Two distinct meanings: the literal 豆瓣 (broad-bean halves) gives its name to 豆瓣酱, the spicy bean paste central to Sichuan cooking; 豆瓣 (Douban) is also a popular Chinese website for movie, book, and music reviews.

noun
fermented broad bean paste (豆瓣酱), a staple ingredient in Sichuan cookingDouban, a Chinese social networking and review website (douban.com)

Examples

  • 豆瓣。
    Wǒ xǐ huan zài dòu bàn shàng kàn diàn yǐng píng lùn.
    I like reading movie reviews on Douban.
  • 豆瓣。
    Zhè dào cài xū yào jiā yì xiē dòu bàn jiàng.
    This dish needs some broad bean paste.
  • 豆瓣。
    dòu bàn Shì yí gè hěn yǒu míng de shè jiāo wǎng zhàn.
    Douban is a very famous social networking site.

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.

豆dòubean
瓣bànhalf or segment

豆 is bean and 瓣 is a half or segment, so 豆瓣 means a split bean half.

Characters in this word

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.

Open 豆 →

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
瓜瓜guāmelon
Sound part声符shēngfú
辡
辡biàn瓣bàn(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 瓣, 瓜 is a melon and 辡 gives the sound; the note describes it as melon seeds.

Open 瓣 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.