Chinese paddlefish
- noun
- Specialized
:
pez pala chino
- The Chinese paddlefish was once a common sight in the Yangtze River before its decline.
Examples
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The Chinese paddlefish is critically endangered.
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Unlike its American relative, the Chinese paddlefish had a more slender body and longer snout.
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Scientists have declared the Chinese paddlefish extinct due to severe habitat loss.
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Have you ever seen a Chinese paddlefish?
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The Chinese paddlefish is critically endangered due to habitat loss in the Yangtze River.
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Scientists are studying the Chinese paddlefish to learn more about its unique paddle-shaped snout.
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Once abundant in its native habitat, the Chinese paddlefish is now rarely seen in the wild.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Chinese + paddlefish
The phrase combines the adjective 'Chinese' (from China) with the compound noun 'paddlefish' (a fish with a paddle-like snout), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a paddlefish species native to China. This is a straightforward adjective + noun compound following normal compositional patterns and is therefore immediately interpretable by B1 learners.
Etymology
Chinese paddlefish gets its name from its look: it was a large Chinese river fish with a very long, flat paddle-shaped nose that looked like a paddle. So the name simply describes 'a Chinese fish with a paddle-like nose'.
