吊针 (diào zhēn) — intravenous (IV) drip (both the setup and the treatment)

Definition

A colloquial word for an IV drip — the bag, tube, and the treatment itself. The verb 打 is often added: 打吊针 means 'to get/be on an IV drip'.

noun
intravenous (IV) drip (both the setup and the treatment)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 吊针。
    Hù shi gěi tā dǎ le diào zhēn.
    The nurse gave him an IV drip.
  • 吊针，。
    diào zhēn Dǎ wán zhī hòu, tā de bìng hǎo duō le.
    After the IV drip finished, his illness got much better.
  • 吊针。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā zhù yuàn dǎ diào zhēn.
    The doctor advised him to be hospitalized for an IV drip.

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.

吊diàohanging
针zhēnneedle

吊 (hanging) + 针 (needle) describes the hanging needle setup for an IV drip.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 吊 →

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 針; 针 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
釒Written in full as金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
十
十shí針zhēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 針 puts 釒, the metal side, beside 十, which gives the sound; 针 is a simplified shorthand.

Open 针 →

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