马蜂窝 (mǎ fēng wō) — wasp's nest, hornet's nest (literal); a sensiti… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'wasp's nest,' but used figuratively for a troublesome or dangerous situation you don't want to provoke. The verb 捅 ('to poke/stir up') commonly pairs with it to mean causing trouble.

noun

wasp's nesthornet's nest (literal)a sensitive or dangerous situationa hornet's nest (figurative)

Measure word · 个

Examples

马蜂窝。
Wū yán xià yǒu yí gè hěn dà de mǎ fēng wō.
There is a very large hornet's nest under the eaves.
马蜂窝，。
Zhè jiàn shì shì gè mǎ fēng wō, nǐ zuì hǎo bié qù pèng.
This matter is a hornet's nest — you'd better not touch it.
马蜂窝，。
Tā tǒng le mǎ fēng wō, xiàn zài má fan dà le.
He stirred up a hornet's nest, and now he's in big trouble.

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hornet

马mǎhorse蜂fēngwasp

偏正Modifier + head

The 'hornet' sense and 'nest' sense combine to mean the nest of a hornet.

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.

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 窩; 窝 is its simplified writing.

穴咼窩

Meaning part形符xíngfú

穴穴xuécave

Sound part声符shēngfú

咼

咼wāi窩wō

Same sound today

The traditional form 窩 uses 穴, a cave, for meaning and 咼 for sound; the simplified 窝 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

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