体征 (tǐ zhēng) — (medical) vital sign; clinical sign

Definition

A clinical/medical term for observable signs of health status that a doctor measures (temperature, pulse, blood pressure) — distinct from 症状, which are symptoms the patient reports feeling.

noun
(medical) vital signclinical sign
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 体征，。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le bìng rén de tǐ zhēng, yí qiè zhèng cháng.
    The doctor checked the patient's vital signs; everything was normal.
  • 体征。
    Tǐ wēn shì zhòng yào de tǐ zhēng zhī yī.
    Body temperature is one of the important vital signs.
  • 体征。
    Hù shi měi tiān jì lù bìng rén de tǐ zhēng biàn huà.
    The nurse records changes in the patient's vital signs every day.

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.

体tǐbody
征zhēngsign

体 (body) and 征 (sign) combine to mean observable signs of the body.

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 體; 体 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
骨骨gǔbone
Sound part声符shēngfú
豊
豊lǐ體tǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 體 pairs 骨 (bone) with 豊 as a sound part; this note is about 體, not about the parts of 体.

Open 体 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 徵; 征 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 征 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (特征, 象征) it is 徵; in others it is 征.

The story is about the traditional form 徵. It originally meant punishment, from a picture of a knife with tooth-shaped protrusions on its back; later forms kept that sense.

Open 征 →

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