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异物 (yì wù) — foreign matter; foreign body (e.g., in food, in the body); rare object; curiosity; strange thing; peculiar thing

Definition

A literal 'different thing' used in two main senses: a foreign body or contaminant (in food, the body, an organ), and a rare or strange object that attracts curiosity. The medical/contaminant sense is by far the most common in modern usage.

noun
foreign matterforeign body (e.g., in food, in the body)rare objectcuriositystrange thingpeculiar thing
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 异物。
    Shí wù lǐ yǒu yì wù.
    There is foreign matter in the food.
  • 异物。
    Zhè ge yì wù hěn zhēn guì.
    This rare object is very precious.
  • 异物，。
    Tā shǒu lǐ ná zhe yí gè yì wù, dà jiā dōu jué de qí guài.
    He was holding a strange thing in his hand, and everyone thought it was weird.

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.

异yìforeign/strange
物wùthing

异 (foreign/strange) and 物 (thing) combine to mean a foreign or strange thing.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 異; 异 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 異 depicts a person with a mask 田 over the face, so the face looks different. The simplified 异 is a later shorthand.

Open 异 →

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
牛牛niú
Sound part声符shēngfú
勿
勿wù物wù
Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Open 物 →
Appears in
Miscellaneous Objects

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