鹰爪 (yīng zhǎo) — talons or claws of a hawk, eagle, or falcon

Definition

noun

talons or claws of a hawkeagleor falcon

Measure word · 只

鹰爪，。
Yīng de yīng zhǎo fēi cháng fēng lì, néng qīng yì sī suì liè wù.
A hawk's talons are very sharp and can easily tear apart prey.
鹰爪。
Bó wù guǎn lǐ chén liè zhe yí duì gǔ dài de yīng zhǎo.
The museum displays a pair of ancient hawk talons.
鹰爪。
Liè rén bǎ yīng zhǎo zhì chéng biāo běn shōu cáng qǐ lái.
The hunter turned the talons into a specimen and collected them.

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.

“鹰” names the bird, and “爪” is its claw; together they refer to a hawk's talons.

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 鷹; 鹰 is its simplified writing.

䧹鳥鷹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

鳥鳥niǎobird

Sound part声符shēngfú

䧹

䧹䧹鷹yīng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鷹 combines 鳥 (bird) with 䧹, which gives the sound.

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

爪 originally drew a human hand reaching down to grab, with the fingers pointing from above.

Appears in