野兽 (yě shòu) — beast, wild animal | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

beastwild animal

Measure word · 只

，野兽。
Zài shēn shān lǐ, rén men hěn shǎo yù jiàn yě shòu.
People rarely encounter wild animals in the deep mountains.
野兽。
Nà ge guó jiā yǒu yì zhǒng dú tè de yě shòu.
That country has a unique wild animal.
野兽。
Gǔ dài wén xiàn zhōng jì zǎi le xǔ duō yě shòu.
Many wild animals are recorded in ancient texts.

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.

野 means wild, and 兽 means animal; together they name an animal that lives outside human care.

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

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

予

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

野 combines 田 (field) above 土 (earth) to show open country, with 予 giving the sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獸; 兽 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 獸 combines 單 (hunting weapon) and 犬 (dog) to show hunting; the simplified 兽 is a shorthand.

Appears in