香菇 (xiāng gū) — shiitake mushroom

Definition

noun
shiitake mushroom
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 香菇。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì xiē xiāng gū zhǔn bèi zuò tāng.
    I bought some shiitake mushrooms to make soup.
  • 香菇。
    xiāng gū Chǎo qīng cài shì yí dào hěn jiǎn dān de jiā cháng cài.
    Stir-fried shiitake mushrooms with greens is a very simple home-style dish.
  • 香菇。
    Zhè zhǒng xiāng gū bǐ pǔ tōng de mó gu gèng xiāng.
    This kind of shiitake mushroom is more fragrant than ordinary mushrooms.

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.

香xiāngfragrant
菇gūmushroom

香菇 is 香 fragrant plus 菇 mushroom, a fragrant mushroom.

Characters in this word

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

香's early form paired 黍 (glutinous millet) with 口 (mouth), perhaps showing millet drink being taken in or offered.

Open 香 →

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
艸艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
姑
姑gū菇gū
Same sound today

菇 pairs 艸, a plant sign, with 姑, a component read gū.

Open 菇 →

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