尿道 (niào dào) — urethra | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

urethra

Measure word · 条

尿道。
Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de niào dào.
The doctor examined his urethra.
尿道。
niào dào Gǎn rǎn huì yǐn qǐ pái niào téng tòng.
A urethral infection can cause painful urination.
尿道。
Tā de niào dào shòu le shāng.
His urethra was injured.

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.

尿 urine and 道 passage name the urinary passage.

Characters in this word

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

Originally it drew a person urinating. The old form used 尾 (tail) and 水 (water); 尾 later simplified to 尸 (body), so 尿 now shows 尸 and 水.

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

行行xíngstreet

Sound part声符shēngfú

𩠐

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Appears in