杀菌 (shā jùn) — to kill germs, to disinfect, to sterilize

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning 'to kill germs / disinfect.' Focuses on the act of eliminating microorganisms, more general-purpose than the medical term 消毒 (which targets pathogens specifically).

verb

to kill germsto disinfectto sterilize

Examples

杀菌。
Zhè zhǒng xiāo dú yè néng yǒu xiào shā jùn.
This disinfectant can effectively kill germs.
。
Cān jù shǐ yòng qián yào shā guò jūn.
Tableware must be sterilized before use.
。
Chú fáng měi zhōu zhì shǎo shā yí cì jūn.
The kitchen should be disinfected at least once a week.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

杀shākill

菌jūngerm

To 杀 germs, where 菌 means germs.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 殺; 杀 is its simplified writing.

人人rénperson
又又yòuright hand

The traditional form 殺 comes from an old drawing of a boar impaled in the head, with 人 and 又 added to show a person doing the killing; the simplified 杀 is a later abbreviation.

Open 杀 →

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

艹囷菌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

囷

囷qūn菌jūn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 艹 is a plant sign, and the lower 囷 gives the sound.

Open 菌 →

Appears in