低热 (dī rè) — low-grade fever, slight fever

Definition

noun

low-grade feverslight fever

低热，。
Tā yǒu diǎn dī rè, dàn méi dào sān shí bā dù.
He has a slight fever, but it hasn't reached 38 degrees.
低热，。
Yī shēng shuō tā zhǐ shì dī rè, bù xū yào zhù yuàn.
The doctor said he just has a low-grade fever and doesn't need to be hospitalized.
低热，。
Hái zi chí xù dī rè, wǒ men dài tā qù yī yuàn jiǎn chá le.
The child had a persistent low-grade fever, so we took him to the hospital for a checkup.

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.

低 (low) and 热 (fever) combine to mean a fever that is not high.

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.

亻氐低

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénman, person

Sound part声符shēngfú

氐

氐dī低dī

Same sound today

In 低, the left side 亻 is a person, and the right side 氐 gives the sound; the image is a person lowering or bowing themselves.

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 熱; 热 is its simplified writing.

埶灬熱

Meaning part形符xíngfú

灬Written in full as火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

埶

埶yì熱rè

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

The traditional form 熱 pairs 埶 with 火 (written as 灬) to show heat, while 埶 gives a sound.