About
The character "驼", denoting the camel, evolved from its traditional form "駝", which is structured as a phonosemantic compound combining the semantic radical "馬" for horse, indicating a large quadruped, with the phonetic component "它" to suggest its sound. This configuration originally associated the animal with horse-like qualities of being a beast of burden, but its meaning narrowed over centuries to specifically represent the hump-backed camel, distinguished by its distinctive physical form. Consequently, the term expanded metaphorically to describe a hunched back or the act of carrying something on one's shoulders, reflecting both the animal's anatomy and its functional role. The contemporary form "驼" maintains this compositional integrity by retaining the phonetic "它" while substituting the traditional horse radical with its simplified counterpart "马".
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
动物园里有骆驼。
骆驼生活在沙漠里。
他的背有点驼。
骆驼的驼峰储存脂肪。
我骑过骆驼旅行。
驼色是一种常见的颜色。
骆驼比马更适合沙漠环境。
由于长期负重，他的背逐渐驼了。