雌 (cí) — female (bound form, used in compound words)
Definition
A bound morpheme meaning 'female', used only in scientific or biological compounds (雌性, 雌雄). Its everyday opposite is 雄 ('male').
bound form
female (bound form, used in compound words)
Examples
- 。Zhè zhǒng niǎo de cí xìng yǔ máo gèng piào liang.The female of this bird species has more beautiful feathers.
- 。Kē xué jiā fā xiàn le zhè zhǒng kūn chóng de cí xióng chā yì.Scientists discovered the male-female differences in this insect.
- 。Tā men xū yào cí xióng pèi duì cái néng fán zhí.They need male-female pairing to reproduce.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
隹隹zhuī
雌 is made of 此 and 隹. 此 gives the sound, and 隹 is the part connected to the meaning.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.