鲣鸟 (jiān diǎo) — booby (type of seabird)

Definition

noun

booby (type of seabird)

Measure word · 只

鲣鸟。
Hǎi biān de yán shí shàng yǒu hěn duō jiān diǎo.
There are many boobies on the coastal rocks.
鲣鸟。
jiān diǎo Shì yì zhǒng shēng huó zài rè dài hǎi yáng de dà xíng hǎi niǎo.
The booby is a large seabird that lives in tropical oceans.
鲣鸟。
Kē xué jiā tōng guò wèi xīng zhuī zōng jiān diǎo de qiān xǐ lù xiàn.
Scientists track the booby's migration routes via satellite.

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.

鲣jiāna kind of fish

The name combines 鲣, a fish name, with 鸟, 'bird', to denote a seabird associated with fish.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鰹; 鲣 is its simplified writing.

魚堅鰹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

魚魚yú

Sound part声符shēngfú

堅

堅jiān鰹

Same sound today

The traditional form 鰹 combines 魚 (fish) with 堅, which supplies the sound; 鲣 is a simplified form.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鳥; 鸟 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鳥 came from a drawing of a bird with a dangling tail; the simplified 鸟 is a later abbreviation.