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马莲 (mǎ lián) — Iris lactea, a type of iris plant; also called 马蔺

Definition

马莲 is an alternate name for 马蔺 (mǎ lìn), a hardy iris plant whose roots are used in traditional Chinese medicine and whose leaves are woven into rope.

noun
Iris lacteaa type of iris plantalso called 马蔺
Measure word · 棵

Examples

  • 马莲，。
    Zhè zhǒng mǎ lián de huā shì zǐ sè de, fēi cháng hǎo kàn.
    The flowers of this iris are purple and very beautiful.
  • 马莲。
    Tā zài yuàn zi lǐ zhǒng le jǐ kē mǎ lián.
    He planted several iris plants in the yard.
  • 马莲。
    Zhè zhǒng mǎ lián de gēn kě yǐ rù yào.
    The roots of this iris can be used in medicine.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蓮; 莲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
連
連lián蓮lián
Same sound today

The traditional form 蓮 puts the plant mark 艹 above 連, which gives the sound. The simplified 莲 is a later shorthand.

Open 莲 →
Appears in
Plants & Flowers

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