野牛 (yě niú) — bison | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

bison

Measure word · 头

野牛。
Wǒ zài diàn shì shàng kàn dào le yě niú.
I saw bison on TV.
野牛。
yě niú Shēng huó zài běi měi dà cǎo yuán shàng.
Bison live on the North American prairie.
野牛。
Bǎo hù yě niú shì wǒ men de zé rèn.
Protecting bison is our responsibility.

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 gives wild and 牛 gives ox, naming a wild ox.

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

牛 is drawn as a bull's head, with two horns and two ears.