抽出 (chōu chū) — to pull out, to draw out (physical); to extract, to select (abstract)

Definition

抽出 covers both the physical sense ('pull out, draw out' — a paper from a drawer) and the abstract sense ('extract, select, set aside' — time, a sample, DNA). A separable verb: 抽出 can also split as 抽…出.

verb
to pull outto draw out (physical)to extractto select (abstract)

Examples

  • 抽出。
    Tā cóng chōu ti lǐ chōu chū yì zhāng zhǐ.
    He pulled out a piece of paper from the drawer.
  • 抽出。
    Wǒ měi tiān chōu chū bàn xiǎo shí xué xí zhōng wén.
    I set aside half an hour every day to study Chinese.
  • 抽出DNA。
    Kē xué jiā cóng yàng běn zhōng chōu chū DNA jìn xíng cè shì.
    The scientist extracted DNA from the sample for testing.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

抽chōupull
出chūout

抽出 pairs 抽, pull, with 出, out, to express pulling something out from where it was.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
由
由yóu抽chōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 is the hand form, written in full as 手, and the right part 由 provides the sound.

Open 抽 →

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

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

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