毒理学 (dú lǐ xué) — toxicology | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

toxicology

毒理学。
Tā zài dà xué yán jiū dú lǐ xué.
He studies toxicology at the university.
毒理学。
dú lǐ xué Shì yì mén zhòng yào de xué kē.
Toxicology is an important discipline.
毒理学。
Xué xí dú lǐ xué xū yào liǎo jiě huà xué hé shēng wù xué.
Studying toxicology requires understanding chemistry and biology.

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

毒理toxic principle

毒dúpoison理lǐprinciple

偏正Modifier + head

'毒' means poison, '理' means principle, and '学' means study, together 'toxicology'.

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

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.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.