寄生 (jì shēng) — parasitism | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

parasitism

Examples

寄生。
jì shēng Shì yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de shēng wù xiàn xiàng.
Parasitism is a common biological phenomenon.
寄生。
Zhè zhǒng jì shēng chóng de jì shēng duì sù zhǔ yǒu hài.
The parasitism of this parasite is harmful to the host.
寄生。
Kē xué jiā yán jiū le zhè zhǒng zhēn jūn de jì shēng.
Scientists studied the parasitism of this fungus.

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.

寄jìattach

Attached living describes organisms that live on another.

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.

宀奇寄

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánhouse

Sound part声符shēngfú

奇

奇qí寄jì

Same sound today

The 宀 part shows a roof, and 奇 gives the sound. Together they point to staying or lodging away from home.

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

屮屮chèbud
一一yīground

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Appears in

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