半身不遂 (bàn shēn bù suí) — hemiplegia (paralysis on one side of the body)

Definition

A formal medical term for hemiplegia — paralysis on one side of the body, usually from a stroke. Used in clinical and written contexts, not everyday speech.

noun
hemiplegia (paralysis on one side of the body)

Examples

  • 半身不遂，。
    Tā yīn wèi zhòng fēng dǎo zhì bàn shēn bù suí, xū yào cháng qī kāng fù zhì liáo.
    He developed hemiplegia due to a stroke and needs long-term rehabilitation.
  • 半身不遂。
    bàn shēn bù suí Huàn zhě kě yǐ tōng guò wù lǐ zhì liáo gǎi shàn huó dòng néng lì.
    Patients with hemiplegia can improve their mobility through physical therapy.
  • 半身不遂，。
    Yī shēng zhěn duàn tā huàn le bàn shēn bù suí, jiàn yì jǐn kuài zhù yuàn.
    The doctor diagnosed him with hemiplegia and recommended immediate hospitalization.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

半身half body
半bànhalf身shēnbody
偏正Modifier + head
不遂not follow
不bùnot遂suìfollow
偏正Modifier + head

半身 means half the body, and 不遂 means it does not follow or move, giving paralysis on one side.

Characters in this word

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

The shape pairs 八 (to divide) with 牛 (cow), showing a cow cut into two halves.

Open 半 →

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

The shape of 身 comes from a drawing of a pregnant woman.

Open 身 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
辵辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
㒸
㒸㒸遂suì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

遂 is made of 辵 and 㒸; 㒸 gives the sound, and the original form 㒸 does not refer to pigs.

Open 遂 →

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