四环素 (sì huán sù) — tetracycline (an antibiotic)

Definition

noun

tetracycline (an antibiotic)

四环素。
Yī shēng gěi wǒ kāi le sì huán sù.
The doctor prescribed me tetracycline.
四环素。
Zhè zhǒng sì huán sù yào piàn yì tiān chī liǎng cì.
Take this tetracycline tablet twice a day.
四环素。
Fú yòng sì huán sù qī jiān bù néng hē niú nǎi.
You cannot drink milk while taking tetracycline.

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.

四环four rings

偏正Modifier + head

素sùsubstance

四 means four, 环 means ring, and 素 means substance, so the word names a substance with four rings.

Characters in this word

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

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

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 環; 环 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

睘

睘qióng環huán

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

The traditional form 環 pairs 玉 (jade) with a sound part; the simplified 环 is a shorthand and its right side is not the historical sound part.

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

The shape of 素 came from a picture of hands braiding thread.