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五倍子 (wǔ bèi zǐ) — Chinese gall (gallnut, used in traditional Chinese medicine and dyeing)

Definition

五倍子 is a specific TCM/dyeing term: galls produced on sumac (盐肤木) leaves by aphids, rich in tannin. It's a specialized noun — used in pharmacy, dyeing, and chemistry rather than everyday speech.

noun
Chinese gall (gallnut, used in traditional Chinese medicine and dyeing)

Examples

  • 五倍子。
    wǔ bèi zǐ Shì yì zhǒng zhòng yào de zhōng yào cái.
    Gallnut is an important Chinese medicinal material.
  • 五倍子。
    Zhè zhǒng rǎn liào shì cóng wǔ bèi zǐ zhōng tí qǔ de.
    This dye is extracted from gallnuts.
  • 五倍子。
    Tā mǎi le yì xiē wǔ bèi zǐ yòng lái zuò shí yàn.
    He bought some gallnuts to use in an experiment.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

五倍fivefold
五wǔfive倍bèifold
偏正Modifier + head
子zǐthing

The name describes a 五倍 thing, a gall traditionally said to be five times larger.

Characters in this word

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

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu倍bèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

倍 has 人 on the left and 咅 on the right; 人 points to a person, while 咅 gives the sound.

Open 倍 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Traditional Medicine & Philosophy

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