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堕胎 (duò tāi) — to have an abortion, to induce an abortion

Definition

堕胎 (duòtāi) is a formal/clinical verb meaning 'to have an abortion / to induce an abortion.' A separable verb (离合词) — commonly split as 堕过两次胎 with aspect markers between the two characters.

verb
to have an abortionto induce an abortion

Examples

  • 堕胎。
    Tā jué dìng duò tāi.
    She decided to have an abortion.
  • 。
    Tā yǐ jīng duò guò liǎng cì tāi le.
    She has already had two abortions.
  • 。
    Tā qù nián duò le yí cì tāi.
    She had an abortion last year.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

堕duòfall or bring down
胎tāifetus

堕 expresses falling or bringing down, and 胎 names the fetus, giving the sense of inducing an abortion.

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 墮; 堕 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
隋
隋suí墮duò
Same sound today

The traditional form 墮 pairs 土 (earth) with 隋 as a sound part; the simplified 堕 is a later shorthand.

Open 堕 →

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròu
Sound part声符shēngfú
台
台tái胎tāi
Same sound today

胎 is formed from ⺼ (written in full as 肉) and 台, which gives the sound.

Open 胎 →
Appears in
Medicine & Treatment

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