乳酸 (rǔ suān) — lactic acid | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

lactic acid

Examples

乳酸。
Suān nǎi zhōng hán yǒu fēng fù de rǔ suān.
Yogurt contains abundant lactic acid.
乳酸。
rǔ suān Shì yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de yǒu jī suān.
Lactic acid is a common organic acid.
乳酸。
Yùn dòng hòu jī ròu huì chǎn shēng rǔ suān.
After exercise, muscles produce lactic acid.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

乳 means milk, 酸 means acid, so 乳酸 is the acid from milk.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

乳 originally drew a kneeling woman holding and breastfeeding a child, matching its meanings of breast and milk.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

酉夋酸

Meaning part形符xíngfú

酉酉yǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

夋

夋qūn酸suān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酸 is built from 酉 and 夋, and 夋 gives the sound.

Appears in

Physics & Chemistry

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