豆 dòu bean
bean; peas; bean-shaped
How it came to be
A stemmed dish: the bowl at the top, the stem it stands on, the foot under that, and a lid laid across. It was a food dish for a thousand years before it meant bean.
用法
- Beans/legumes; also anything small and bean-shaped. 豆子 (dòuzi) beans, 土豆 (tǔdòu) potato (lit. 'earth bean').
- Very common in food words: 豆腐 (dòufu) tofu, 豆浆 (dòujiāng) soy milk - a classic breakfast pair with 油条.
- Watch the tone/shape: 豆 (dòu) bean vs 头 (tóu) head look nothing alike but 逗 (dòu, to tease) shares this phonetic.