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grass
Simplified form of sprouts or grass (艸) formed by combining 2 sprouts (屮) Used only in combination with other characters and usually placed on top |
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morning, early, soon
早起 to wake up early; 早睡 early to bed; 早上 morning; 早餐 breakfast
Sun (日) rises further up (十) from the dawn “旦[dàn],” to start morning. |
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grass; rough, draft
草地 lawn; 野草 weeds; 草稿 rough draft; 草率 sloppy
草药 herbal medicine; 草图 sketch, draft plan
plant (艹) that grows early (早) is grass |
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to pick, to collect
采茶 to pick tea leaves; 采花 to pick flowers;
采访 to interview (lit. gather opinions);
采纳 to accept (advice); 采用 to adopt / use (a method)
to pick a tree's young shoots or fruit by hand |
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vegetables, greens
蔬菜 vegetables; 菜单 menu; 中国菜 Chinese cuisine
plants (艹) that are picked (采) by hand are vegetables |
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tea, tea plant
喝茶 to drink tea; 茶道 tea ceremony; 茶馆 teahouse
the leaves (艹) that are like a surplus (余) are used for tea |
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to change/convert
-ify, -ization, -ize
变化 change, transformation; 现代化 modernization
文化 culture (lit. written transformation)
全球化 globalization; 简化 simplification
化学 chemistry; 化工 chemical industry
a prisoner takes time to sharpen a spoon to transform and change it into a knife |
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flower, blossom
to spend (money, time)
花朵 blossom; 开花 to bloom; 花粉 pollen
花钱 to spend money; 花时间 to spend time
花纹 decorative pattern; 花哨 gaudy; 花花公子 playboy;
眼花 dazzled (lit. eyes flowered)
grass changes to flower by spending a lot of time under the sun
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ancient, old
古老 age-old; 古文 ancient texts; 古城 ancient city
a tombstone old cross on an ancient headstone |
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bitter; hardship
苦茶 bitter tea; 吃苦 to endure bitterness (a metaphor for resilience)
痛苦 pain/suffering; 辛苦 hard work/toil; 吃苦 to endure hardship
苦难 adversity, hardship; 很苦 very bitter
Old (古) plants (艹) mean medicinal herbs, which are naturally bitter. |
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second; 2nd
In contracts, 甲方 = Party A, 乙方 = Party B (like "Party 1" and "Party 2")
the rotate number "2" |
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art; skill
艺术 art; 艺术家 artist; 工艺 craftsmanship; 技艺 technical skill;
someone looking after a plant (艹) that is growing haphazardly and crooked (乙). Attending to such a plant requires enormous effort and is a skilful art. |
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(short-tailed) bird
Signifies a small bird which looked at from its side. While “鸟[niǎo]” is used to and signify long-tailed and larger birds, this character is a general term to mean ‘short-tailed and smaller birds.’ |
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plantain; banana
香蕉 banana; 蕉树 banana tree
a plant (艹) that looks dark and like burnt (焦) when it is not fresh anymore is a plantain or a banana |
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to make an appointment
to arrange
to promise / agree
approximately, roughly
约定 to arrange (to make an agreement); 合约 contract; 大约 roughly
a connection (纟) made by drinking wine together from the same ladle (勺) thus making an agreement or a pact |
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drug, medicine
中药 traditional Chinese medicine; 西药 Western pharmaceuticals
药店 pharmacy; 吃药 to take medicine; 毒药 poison
a plant (艹) upon which is agreed (约) that it works like a medicine |
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world, society
generation, era, lifetime
世界 world; 世俗 secular world; 一生一世 a whole lifetime;
三世同堂 three generations under one roof
"ten" and "ten" and "ten" = three decades = one generation |
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extra, surplus, remainder;
I, me (classical)
剩余 leftover, surplus; 多余 unnecessary, extra
业余 spare time, or amateur (lit. beyond work)
an archaic component meaning "to ";
what is gathered (亼) on the altar (示) is the surplus |
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burned, scorched;
anxious, worried
焦黑 burnt black, charred; 焦点 focus, focal/central point;
焦虑 anxiety (burning with worry); 焦急 anxious, impatient
a bird (焦) above a fire (灬) being burned |
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