Definitions

ōu common gull

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Simplified form of .

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "鸥", representing the gull, originated from its traditional form "鷗", which semantically incorporates the "鳥" component indicating a bird and phonetically employs "區" to suggest its pronunciation. Throughout its history, the character's meaning has remained steadfastly linked to seabirds of the gull family, reflecting no major semantic drift. In terms of structure, the traditional "鷗" was streamlined into "鸥" by substituting the complex "鳥" with its simplified variant "鸟" and reducing "區" to "区", thereby preserving the original phonetic and semantic associations while achieving a more simplified graphical composition.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

在海上飞。

Hǎi'ōu zài hǎishàng fēi.

Seagulls are flying over the sea.

喜欢吃鱼。

Hǎi'ōu xǐhuān chī yú.

Seagulls like to eat fish.

几只海站在沙滩上。

Jǐ zhī hǎi'ōu zhàn zài shātān shàng.

A few seagulls are standing on the sandy beach.

白色的海在蓝天翱翔。

Báisè de hǎi'ōu zài lántiān áoxiáng.

White seagulls soar in the blue sky.

一群海跟着渔船觅食。

Yì qún hǎi'ōu gēnzhe yúchuán mìshí.

A flock of seagulls follows the fishing boat to look for food.

在风浪中显得很勇敢。

Shā'ōu zài fēnglàng zhōng xiǎnde hěn yǒnggǎn.

The seagulls appear very brave amidst the wind and waves.

湖心的沙宛如白色音符。

Húxīn de shā'ōu wǎnrú báisè yīnfú.

The seagulls at the center of the lake are like white musical notes.

鸟的翅膀掠过金色的晚霞。

Ōuniǎo de chìbǎng lüèguò jīnsè de wǎnxiá.

The seagull's wings skim across the golden sunset glow.