酿蜜 (niàng mì) — (of bees) to make honey

Definition

Literary/technical verb for bees making honey, used in writing about apiculture rather than daily speech. The verb 酿 is the formal word for brewing/fermenting; 蜜 is honey.

verb
(of bees) to make honey

Examples

  • ，酿蜜。
    Chūn tiān, mì fēng máng zhe niàng mì.
    In spring, bees are busy making honey.
  • 。
    Zhè xiē mì fēng yǐ jīng niàng le hěn duō mì.
    These bees have already produced a lot of honey.
  • 酿蜜。
    Zhǐ yǒu jiàn kāng de fēng qún cái néng yǒu xiào dì niàng mì.
    Only healthy bee colonies can make honey effectively.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

酿niàngmake
蜜mìhoney

“酿” means to make or ferment and “蜜” means honey, together describing bees making honey.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 酿 →

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
虫虫chónginsect
Sound part声符shēngfú
宓
宓mì蜜mì
Same sound today

蜜 is built from 虫, an insect, and 宓, which gives the sound.

Open 蜜 →

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