截瘫 (jié tān) — paraplegia

Definition

noun
paraplegia

Examples

  • 截瘫。
    Nà cì chē huò dǎo zhì tā jié tān.
    That car accident caused his paraplegia.
  • 截瘫。
    jié tān Huàn zhě xū yào cháng qī kāng fù zhì liáo.
    Paraplegia patients need long-term rehabilitation.
  • 截瘫。
    Yī shēng zhèng zài yán jiū zhì liáo jié tān de xīn fāng fǎ.
    Doctors are researching new treatments for paraplegia.

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.

截jiécut off
瘫tānparalysis

截 and 瘫 picture paralysis from a severed spinal cord, hence paraplegia.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gē
Sound part声符shēngfú
雀
雀què截jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

截 combines 戈 and 雀, with 雀 supplying the sound.

Open 截 →

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 癱; 瘫 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nè
Sound part声符shēngfú
難
難nán癱tān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 癱 pairs 疒, an illness part, with 難 as a sound part; this story is about 癱, not the simplified 瘫.

Open 瘫 →

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