Chinese

香蕉

xiāngjiāo
banana (fruit) (Classifier: 隻／只 m c; 根 m; 條／条 m c; 串 m; 梳 c)
  • HSK 3
  • TOCFL 2

Etymology graph

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Origin

A transparent compound of 香 (“fragrant; aromatic”) + 蕉 (“banana; Musa”). Originally a southern (Lingnan) varietal name for particularly fragrant, sweet edible bananas, attested from the Ming dynasty; later generalized to mean “banana” in Modern Chinese. Compare earlier general terms 甘蕉 (“sweet banana”) and 芭蕉 (often the generic/ornamental banana), and contrast 牙蕉／象牙蕉 (“ivory banana,” named for the ivory-like spathe).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • characterChinese香 “fragrant; fragrance”
    • ideaChinese黍 “proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) (especially glutinous varieties, but also generic)”
    • ideaChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”
  • characterChinese蕉 “unsoaked hemp”
    • meaningChinese艸 “grass”
    • soundChinese焦 “burned; scorched”
      • meaningChinese隹 “short-tailed bird”
      • soundChinese小 “small, tiny, little”
        • ideaChinese八 “eight”
        • ideaChinese丨 “To connect vertically; to pass through from top to bottom.”

Sources