Definition
求偶 is a separable verb (离合词) meaning 'to court' or 'to seek a mate'. It is used for animals during mating season and, more figuratively, for human romantic pursuit. The verb can split when inserting a measure word (e.g. 次), duration (e.g. 一年), or complement: 求了一次偶 (courted once), 求了两年的偶 (sought a mate for two years).
v.o.
to courtto seek a mate
Examples
- 求偶。Xióngniǎo tōngguò chànggē lái qiú ǒu.Male birds court by singing.
- 求偶。Tā wèile qiú ǒu huā le hěn duō shíjiān dǎban zìjǐ.He spent a lot of time dressing up in order to court.
- 。Zhè zhǐ kǒngquè qiú le yí cì ǒu jiù chénggōng le.This peacock succeeded after courting once.
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