描 miáo to copy
to copy; to depict; to sketch; to trace
怎么记住“描”: 扌 hand + 苗 sprouts = to copy. In the garden the girl holds a pencil in her hand and studies the rice sprouts, trying to copy each leaf.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
描 = 扌 hand + 苗 sprouts
- 扌 hand meaning
- 苗 sprouts sound
In the garden the girl holds a pencil in her hand and studies the rice sprouts, trying to copy each leaf.
How it came to be
The hand gives the meaning and the sprouts give the sound.
用法
- 描述 miáoshù "to describe" is more literary/formal than everyday 说 or 讲.
- 描写 miáoxiě is specifically for literary description in essays and novels: 描写景色 "describe the scenery."
- 扫描 sǎomiáo "to scan" (a document, a barcode) extends the original "trace/sweep" sense into modern technology.