淘河

táohé

noun

Measure Word

一只淘河 zhī

Meanings

1 pelican
2 (literary name for the bird)

Characters

to dredge, wash

Examples

古人称鹈鹕为淘河。

Gǔrén chēng tíhú wéi táohé.

The ancients called the pelican "taohe."

诗中的淘河指水边的大鸟。

Shī zhōng de táohé zhǐ shuǐbiān de dà niǎo.

The "taohe" in the poem refers to the big waterbird.

Tips

memory

Literally "to dredge the river" — 淘 means to scoop/dredge, and a pelican's giant pouch really does scoop water out like a hand-net. The modern word for pelican is 鹈鹕 (tíhú).

Stroke Order

淘 táo

河 hé