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传染性 (chuán rǎn xìng) — contagiousness; infectivity

Definition

Noun formed from 传染 ('to infect') + 性 ('-ness' / 'nature of'), so it means the property of being contagious. Describes how easily a disease or virus spreads from person to person.

noun
contagiousnessinfectivity

Examples

  • 传染性。
    Zhè zhǒng bìng dú de chuán rǎn xìng hěn qiáng.
    This virus's contagiousness is very strong.
  • 传染性。
    Yī shēng zhèng zài yán jiū xīn guān fèi yán de chuán rǎn xìng tè zhēng.
    Doctors are studying the contagiousness characteristics of COVID-19.
  • 传染性。
    Zhè ge jí bìng de chuán rǎn xìng bǐ wǒ men xiǎng xiàng de yào gāo.
    The contagiousness of this disease is higher than we imagined.

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.

传染contagious
传chuántransmit染rǎninfect
联合Coordinate
性xìngquality

传染 (transmit + infect) + 性 (quality) gives contagiousness.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 傳; 传 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān傳chuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傳 puts 人 (man) beside 專, which gives the sound; the simplified 传 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 传 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

染 combines 氵 (water), 九 (hook), and 木 (tree): something hung on a hook from a tree into water to dye it.

Open 染 →

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
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
生
生shēng性xìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

性 is built from 忄 (the heart) and 生 (a sound clue). The heart part connects the word to a person's inner nature or quality.

Open 性 →
Appears in
Illness & Symptoms

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