鹤 hè crane
怎么记住“鹤”: 隺 high flyer + 鸟 bird = crane. Grandpa points to a high flyer far above the lake, a huge white bird with long legs, and whispers "That is a crane."
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
鹤 = 隺 high flyer + 鸟 bird
- 隺 high flyer sound
- 鸟 bird meaning
Grandpa points to a high flyer far above the lake, a huge white bird with long legs, and whispers "That is a crane."
How it came to be
The bird gives the meaning and the other part the sound.
用法
- Crane: 仙鹤 (xiānhè) the red-crowned crane, a symbol of longevity (paired with pines and immortals).
- Its famous idiom: 鹤立鸡群 (hèlìjīqún) 'a crane standing among chickens' = to stand out conspicuously above the crowd, be head and shoulders above others.
- Literary/auspicious register; 鹤发童颜 (hèfà-tóngyán) = white-haired but youthful-faced, hale in old age.