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小便 (xiǎo biàn) — to urinate

Definition

Polite, neutral verb meaning 'to urinate'. Often paired with the verb-noun 去小便; 上厕所 is the more common everyday phrasing, while 尿 is crude.

verb
to urinate

Examples

  • 小便。
    Tā yào qù xiǎo biàn yí xià.
    He needs to go urinate.
  • 小便。
    Wǒ zǎo shàng qǐ lái zhī hòu huì xiǎo biàn.
    I urinate after waking up in the morning.
  • 小便。
    Xiǎo hái zi jīng cháng rěn bú zhù xiǎo biàn.
    Children often can't help urinating.

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xiǎolight relief
便biànexcrete

小 points to 'light relief' and 便 to 'excrete', so the sense is 'urinate'.

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 →

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

便 pairs 亻 (person) with 更 (to change), showing a person changing posture to become comfortable.

Open 便 →
Appears in
Hygiene & Grooming

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