小产 (xiǎo chǎn) — to have a miscarriage (spontaneous abortion)

Definition

Colloquial verb for 'to have a miscarriage' — refers to spontaneous loss of the pregnancy, not an induced abortion (which is 堕胎 or 流产 in the medical sense).

verb
to have a miscarriage (spontaneous abortion)

Examples

  • 小产。
    Tā huái yùn sān gè yuè shí xiǎo chǎn le.
    She had a miscarriage when she was three months pregnant.
  • 小产。
    xiǎo chǎn Duì nǚ xìng shēn tǐ yǐng xiǎng hěn dà.
    Miscarriage has a big impact on a woman's body.
  • 小产。
    Tā yīn wèi guò dù láo lèi dǎo zhì xiǎo chǎn.
    She had a miscarriage due to overwork.

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.

小xiǎosmall
产chǎnbirth

小 gives the sense small or incomplete, and 产 names birth, so the word describes a miscarriage.

Characters in this word

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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 產; 产 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
生生shēngto be born
Sound part声符shēngfú
彥
彥yàn產chǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 產 pairs 生, "to be born," with 彥 as a sound part; the simplified 产 is a shorthand.

Open 产 →

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