Definition
螺 is a bound morpheme (b.f.) that cannot stand alone. It appears in compounds related to spiral shapes (螺旋 'spiral'), snails and conchs (海螺 'conch', 螺蛳 'river snail'), and screws (螺丝 'screw'). The dictionary gloss 'fingerprint whorl' covers only one specialized use; in practice 螺 is far more common in the other senses listed above.
b.f.
(bound form) spiralwhorl (as in 螺旋, 指纹螺)(bound form) snailconch (as in 螺蛳, 海螺)(bound form) screw (as in 螺丝)
Examples
- 。Zhège luó sī dīng tài cháng le.This screw is too long.
- 。Lóutī shì luó xuán xíng de.The staircase is spiral-shaped.
- 。Hǎi luó de ké hěn piàoliang.The shell of the conch is very beautiful.
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