抗原 (kàng yuán) — antigen | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Specialized biology/medicine term for a substance (usually on a virus or bacterium) that triggers the body's immune response. Pair it with 抗体 ('antibody'), which the body produces in reaction to the antigen.

noun

antigen

Measure word · 种

Examples

抗原。
Zhè zhǒng kàng yuán kě yǐ shí bié bìng dú.
This type of antigen can identify viruses.
抗原。
Yī shēng yòng kàng yuán jiǎn cè bìng rén shì fǒu gǎn rǎn.
Doctors use antigens to test whether patients are infected.
抗原。
kàng yuán Jiǎn cè shì zhěn duàn jí bìng de zhòng yào fāng fǎ.
Antigen testing is an important method for diagnosing diseases.

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.

抗原 combines 抗 anti with 原 source, naming the immune trigger.

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.

扌亢抗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

亢

亢kàng抗kàng

Same sound today

抗 is made from 扌, a written form of 手 (hand), and 亢, which gives the sound.

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

泉泉quánspring
厂厂chǎngcliff

原 combines 泉 (spring) and 厂 (cliff), picturing a spring bursting from a cliff-side, which gives the sense of origin or source.

Appears in

Biology Medicine & Treatment

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