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酵母 (jiào mǔ) — yeast; leaven

Definition

noun
yeastleaven

Examples

  • 酵母。
    Zuò miàn bāo xū yào jiā jiào mǔ.
    Making bread requires adding yeast.
  • 酵母。
    Zhè zhǒng jiào mǔ fā jiào dé hěn kuài.
    This type of yeast ferments very quickly.
  • 酵母。
    Kē xué jiā zài yán jiū jiào mǔ de jī yīn.
    Scientists are studying the genes of yeast.

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.

酵jiàoferment
母mǔmother

酵 and 母 combine to mean a fermenting starter.

Characters in this word

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
酉酉yǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
孝
孝xiào酵jiào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酵 pairs 酉, a vessel for making drink, with 孝, which gives the sound; 孝’s ‘young + old’ parts also hint at aging in the vessel, as fermentation does.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 母 →
Appears in
Food (General)Materials & Substances

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