象
xiàng
elephant
CL:隻|只[zhi1]; shape; form; appearance; to imitate
a picture of 象 → the elephant, source of all shapes
象 was originally a detailed pictograph of an elephant — trunk, tusks, and heavy body — so vivid that it became the word for 'shape' and 'appearance' itself. The components ⺈, 口, and 豕 are residues of that drawing, not a semantic equation.
动物园里有一头大象。
dòng wù yuán lǐ yǒu yī tóu dà xiàng。
There is a big elephant in the zoo.
那头象的鼻子很长，孩子们都很喜欢看它。
nà tóu xiàng de bí zi hěn cháng，hái zi men dōu hěn xǐ huān kàn tā。
That elephant's trunk is very long, and the children all like watching it.
Words with 象
豌豆象
wān dòu xiàng
pea weevil
象虫
xiàng chóng
weevil; snout beetle
迟滞现象
chí zhì xiàn xiàng
hysteresis
录象
lù xiàng
variant of 錄像|录像[lu4 xiang4]
长毛象
cháng máo xiàng
woolly mammoth
险象环生
xiǎn xiàng huán shēng
dangers spring up all around (idiom); surrounded by perils
血象
xuè xiàng
hemogram
不象话
bù xiàng huà
unreasonable
世界气象组织
shì jiè qì xiàng zǔ zhī
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
中国气象局
zhōng guó qì xiàng jú
China Meteorological Administration (CMA)
乱象
luàn xiàng
chaos
人心不足蛇吞象
rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng
a man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant (idiom)