马蜂 (mǎ fēng) — hornet | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

hornet

Measure word · 只

Examples

，马蜂！
Xiǎo xīn, qián miàn yǒu mǎ fēng!
Be careful, there's a hornet ahead!
。
Shù shàng de mǎ fēng wō hěn dà.
The hornet's nest in the tree is very big.
马蜂，。
Tā bèi mǎ fēng zhē le yí xià, hěn téng.
He was stung by a hornet, it hurt a lot.

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.

马蜂 is a 蜂, wasp, described as 马, big.

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.

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

虫夆蜂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

虫虫chónginsect

Sound part声符shēngfú

夆

夆páng蜂fēng

Same sound today

蜂 puts 虫, showing an insect, beside 夆, which gives its sound.

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