黑貂 (hēi diāo) — sable (animal or its fur)

Definition

noun

sable (animal or its fur)

Measure word · 只

Easily confused

黑貂。
Zhè zhǒng hēi diāo de máo hěn ruǎn.
The fur of this kind of sable is very soft.
黑貂。
Yí gè rén zhuō dào le yì zhī hēi diāo.
A person caught a sable.
黑貂。
Tā wéi le yì tiáo hēi diāo wéi jīn.
She wore a sable scarf.

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.

Black describes the 貂, naming the sable animal or fur.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 黑 seems to come from drawing a head marked with dots, usually read as facial tattoos.

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

豸召貂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

豸豸zhì

Sound part声符shēngfú

召

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

貂 is built from 豸, the part used for animals, and 召, which gives the character its sound.