种

zhǒng

seed

species; kind; type; classifier for types, kinds, sorts

grain (禾) + 中 (sound) = seed, kind, type

禾 anchors the meaning in grain and agriculture — seeds are what you plant. 中 mainly contributes the zhǒng sound rather than a semantic idea.

禾+中→种

中MiddlePhonetic

禾Grain plantSemantic

人种

rén zhǒng

race (of people)

有种

yǒu zhǒng

to have guts

特种部队

tè zhǒng bù duì

(military) special forces

种植园

zhòng zhí yuán

plantation

树种

shù zhǒng

tree species

多种

duō zhǒng

many kinds of; multiple; diverse; multi-

火种

huǒ zhǒng

tinder

试种

shì zhòng

test planting

种姓

zhǒng xìng

caste (traditional Indian social division)

这种

zhè zhǒng

this kind of

配种

pèi zhǒng

to breed

配种季节

pèi zhǒng jì jié

breeding season