霉菌 (méi jūn) — mold; fungus | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

moldfungus

Measure word · 种

Examples

霉菌。
Bīng xiāng lǐ de miàn bāo cháng le méi jūn.
The bread in the fridge has grown mold.
霉菌。
Zhè zhǒng méi jūn néng dǎo zhì yán zhòng de guò mǐn fǎn yìng.
This type of fungus can cause severe allergic reactions.
霉菌。
Shí yàn shì lǐ zhèng zài yán jiū méi jūn de fán zhí tiáo jiàn.
The laboratory is researching the reproductive conditions of mold.

Origin

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.

霉 (mold) + 菌 (fungus) means a fungus that grows as mold.

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.

雨每霉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

每měi霉méi

Same sound today

The top 雨 (rain) points to dampness, and the bottom 每 (měi) gives the sound.

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

艹囷菌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

囷

囷qūn菌jūn

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

The top 艹 is a plant sign, and the lower 囷 gives the sound.

Appears in

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