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安非他明 (ān fēi tā míng) — amphetamine (a drug)

Definition

noun
amphetamine (a drug)

Examples

  • 安非他明。
    Zhè zhǒng ān fēi tā míng shì yì zhǒng qiáng liè de xīng fèn jì.
    This kind of amphetamine is a strong stimulant.
  • 安非他明。
    Yī shēng jǐng gào bú yào làn yòng ān fēi tā míng.
    Doctors warn not to abuse amphetamines.
  • 安非他明。
    ān fēi tā míng De huà xué chéng fèn fēi cháng fù zá.
    The chemical composition of amphetamine is very complex.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

安ān
非fēi
他tā
明míng

安非他明 carry no meaning of their own here; the word spells amphetamine.

Sound-only characters

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →

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

The shape of 非 is drawn from two wings facing opposite directions. It later came to be used for going against or not being.

Open 非 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě他tā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

他 combines 亻 (a person) with 也, which was chosen for its sound.

Open 他 →

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

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →
Appears in
Medicine & Treatment

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