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出诊 (chū zhěn) — to make a house call, to visit a patient at home

Definition

A medical term for a doctor going out to see a patient at home or elsewhere (a 'house call'). Refers specifically to the doctor's trip to the patient, not the patient going to a hospital.

verb
to make a house callto visit a patient at home

Examples

  • 出诊。
    Yī shēng míng tiān yào qù chū zhěn.
    The doctor needs to make a house call tomorrow.
  • ？
    Nǐ chū guò zhěn ma?
    Have you ever made a house call?
  • 。
    Tā zhè zhōu chū le sān cì zhěn.
    He made three house calls this week.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

出chūgo out
诊zhěnmedical examination

出 (go out) and 诊 (medical examination) describe a doctor leaving to see patients.

Characters in this word

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

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

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 診; 诊 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐱
㐱㐱診zhěn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 診, the left part 言 relates to speech, and the right part 㐱 gives the sound; the simplified 诊 is a later shorthand.

Open 诊 →
Appears in
Medicine & Treatment

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