受凉 (shòu liáng) — to catch a cold | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

受凉 means 'to catch a cold (from cold exposure)' — focuses on the cause (getting chilled), unlike 感冒 which names the illness itself.

verb

to catch a cold

Easily confused

，受凉。
Nǐ zuì hǎo duō chuān diǎn yī fu, xiǎo xīn shòu liáng.
You'd better wear more clothes and be careful not to catch a cold.
受凉。
Zhè cì shòu liáng ràng tā qǐng jià xiū xi le sān tiān.
Catching a cold this time made him take leave and rest for three days.
，。
Tā zuó tiān lín le yǔ, shòu le yí cì liáng.
He got caught in the rain yesterday and caught a cold once.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

受 means to receive or suffer, and 凉 means cold, giving a sense of catching cold from exposure.

Characters in this word

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

受 possibly combines 爪 and 又 as hands with 舟 as a boat, to show handing something over.

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 涼; 凉 is its simplified writing.

氵京涼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng涼liáng

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

The traditional form 涼 combines 氵 (water) with 京, which gives the sound; the simplified 凉 is a later abbreviation.