毒理 (dú lǐ) — toxicology | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

toxicology

Examples

毒理。
Tā zài dà xué yán jiū dú lǐ.
He studies toxicology at university.
毒理。
dú lǐ Shì yì mén zhòng yào de xué kē.
Toxicology is an important discipline.
毒理。
Yī shēng bì xū liǎo jiě dú lǐ.
Doctors must understand toxicology.

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

理lǐprinciple

毒 (poison) and 理 (principle) together name the principles of toxicity.

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

里lǐ理lǐ

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.

Appears in

Science (General)

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