About
The character for crane, "鹤", exemplifies the pictophonetic principle in Chinese character formation, combining a semantic element with a phonetic one. Its traditional form, "鶴", clearly shows this construction, integrating the component "鳥" (niǎo, meaning bird) on the right to signify its avian category, while the left side, "隺" (hè), primarily provides a phonetic clue though it also historically contained a bird-related meaning itself, as "隺" originally depicted a large, high-flying bird. Over time, the character’s meaning narrowed specifically to denote the crane, moving away from a more general avian reference, and this specific creature became heavily associated in literature and art with longevity, elegance, and transcendence, layering profound cultural significance onto its literal zoological definition. The structural simplification to "鹤" merely streamlined the "鳥" component to its common simplified variant, "鸟", leaving the fundamental phonetic-semantic relationship and the character’s core meaning intact while adjusting its visual form.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
湖边有一只丹顶鹤。
那只白鹤的羽毛很漂亮。
动物园里新来了几只鹤。
仙鹤在湿地中优雅地漫步。
一群鹤正飞往南方过冬。
松树与鹤的图案象征长寿。
画家正在仔细描绘鹤的形态。
她的舞姿飘逸，宛如一只起舞的鹤。