TongTong
Sign in

龙珠 (lóng zhū) — (proper noun) Dragon Ball, the manga/anime franchise; (noun, rare) the plant Tubocapsicum anomalum (devil's tomato)

Definition

In modern usage 龙珠 almost always refers to the Japanese manga/anime Dragon Ball. The literal sense — the pearls in Chinese dragon lore or a rare plant name — is obscure and rarely encountered.

noun
(proper noun) Dragon Ballthe manga/anime franchise(noun, rare) the plant Tubocapsicum anomalum (devil's tomato)

Examples

  • 《龙珠》？
    Nǐ xiǎo shí hou kàn guò 《lóng zhū》 ma?
    Did you watch Dragon Ball when you were little?
  • 《龙珠》。
    Wǒ dì di fēi cháng xǐ huan 《lóng zhū》 lǐ de sūn wù kōng.
    My younger brother really likes Goku from Dragon Ball.
  • 《龙珠》。
    《lóng zhū》 Shì yí bù jīng diǎn de rì běn dòng huà.
    Dragon Ball is a classic Japanese anime.

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.

龙lóngdragon
珠zhūpearl/ball

龙 (dragon) plus 珠 (pearl/ball) gives the dragon pearl.

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 龍; 龙 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 龍 originally drew a sacred creature with a large mouth and a snake-like body; the simplified 龙 is the form written here.

Open 龙 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
𤣩Written in full as玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
朱
朱zhū珠zhū
Same sound today

The left side 𤣩, a form of 玉, connects the character to jade, while the right side 朱 gives the sound.

Open 珠 →
Appears in
Mythology & Folklore

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.