豆类 (dòu lèi) — legumes, beans and peas

Definition

noun
legumesbeans and peas

Examples

  • 豆类。
    dòu lèi Fù hán dàn bái zhì.
    Legumes are rich in protein.
  • 豆类，。
    Wǒ xǐ huan chī gè zhǒng dòu lèi, bǐ rú huáng dòu hé lǜ dòu.
    I like to eat various legumes, such as soybeans and mung beans.
  • 豆类。
    dòu lèi Shí pǐn duì jiàn kāng hěn yǒu hǎo chù.
    Legume foods are very good for health.

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/pea
类lèicategory/family

豆 names beans or peas, and 类 means category or family, yielding the legume family.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 類; 类 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
頪
頪lèi類lèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 類 pairs 犬, which relates to the meaning, with 頪, which gives the sound. The simplified 类 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 类 →

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