敏感 (mǐn gǎn) — sensitive (to physical or emotional stimuli); s… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

敏感 means 'sensitive' — easily affected by stimuli (skin), easily hurt emotionally (personality), or touchy socially (topic). Distinct from 敏锐, which means 'sharp/keen' in a positive sense (insight, perception).

adjective

sensitive (to physical or emotional stimuli)susceptible

Examples

敏感，。
Wǒ de pí fū hěn mǐn gǎn, bù néng yòng zhè zhǒng huà zhuāng pǐn.
My skin is very sensitive; I can't use this kind of cosmetics.
敏感，。
Tā xìng gé hěn mǐn gǎn, nǐ shuō huà yào xiǎo xīn.
He has a sensitive personality; you need to be careful when you talk.
敏感，。
Zhè shì yí gè mǐn gǎn huà tí, wǒ men bú yào tǎo lùn.
This is a sensitive topic; let's not discuss it.

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.

感gǎnfeeling

敏 means quick or acute and 感 means feeling, together describing acute responsiveness.

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

攴攴pūhand; action

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

每měi敏mǐn

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

敏 pairs 每, which gives the sound, with 攴, a hand/action part.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

咸心感

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

咸

咸xián感gǎn

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

感 pairs 咸, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart, for feeling.

Appears in

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