牡丹

mǔ dan · HSK 7

peony

牡 male animal + 丹 cinnabar red; used here as a place name in Shandong and Taiwan

Sound hook: mǔ-dan echoes moo-Dan, where moo nods to 牡 (a male animal) and Dan stands in for 丹 (cinnabar red). Same characters also name the peony flower.

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