TongTong
Sign in

卫生巾 (wèi shēng jīn) — sanitary pad, sanitary napkin

Definition

noun
sanitary padsanitary napkin
Measure word · 片

Examples

  • 卫生巾。
    Wǒ qù chāo shì mǎi le yì bāo wèi shēng jīn.
    I went to the supermarket and bought a pack of sanitary pads.
  • 卫生巾。
    Zhè zhǒng wèi shēng jīn yòng qǐ lái hěn shū fu.
    This kind of sanitary pad is very comfortable to use.
  • 卫生巾？
    Nǐ cháng yòng de wèi shēng jīn shì shén me pái zi?
    What brand of sanitary pad do you usually use?

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.

卫生protecting health
卫wèiprotect生shēnglife
动宾Verb + object
巾jīncloth

卫生 (protecting health) plus 巾 (cloth) means a cloth for hygiene.

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 衛; 卫 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
韋
韋wéi衛wèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 衛 is built from 行 as the sense part and 韋 as the sound part; the simplified 卫 is a shorthand.

Open 卫 →

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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

The form 巾 is a picture of a piece of cloth hanging down.

Open 巾 →
Appears in
Toiletries & Cosmetics

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.