金橘 (jīn jú) — kumquat | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

kumquat

Measure word · 个

Easily confused

金橘。
Zhè zhǒng jīn jú wèi dào suān tián kě kǒu.
This kind of kumquat tastes sweet and sour.
金橘。
Wǒ zài chāo shì mǎi le yì hé jīn jú.
I bought a box of kumquats at the supermarket.
金橘，。
jīn jú Kě yǐ zhí jiē chī, yě kě yǐ zuò guǒ jiàng.
Kumquats can be eaten directly or made into jam.

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.

The sense of gold joins with orange to mean the small golden citrus fruit.

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.

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木矞橘

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

矞

矞yù橘jú

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

橘 has 木 on the left, showing a tree, and 矞 on the right, giving the sound.