梅毒 (méi dú) — syphilis | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

syphilis

Examples

梅毒。
Tā yīn wèi bù ān quán de xìng xíng wéi gǎn rǎn le méi dú.
He contracted syphilis due to unsafe sexual practices.
梅毒。
Zǎo qī méi dú yòng kàng shēng sù zhì liáo kě yǐ wán quán zhì yù.
Early-stage syphilis can be completely cured with antibiotics.
梅毒。
Yī shēng jiàn yì tā zuò méi dú jiǎn chá.
The doctor recommended he get a check for syphilis.

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.

毒dúpoison

梅 'plum' and 毒 'poison' combine to name syphilis, likely evoking its sores.

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.

木每梅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

每měi梅méi

Same sound today

梅 is built from 木 (tree) and 每, which gives the sound; it is used for the plum tree.

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

屮屮chèvegetation

Sound part声符shēngfú

毐

毐ǎi毒dú

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

毒 pairs 屮, a plant part, with 毐 as a sound part; this form was used for a poisonous plant.

Appears in

Illness & Symptoms

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