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水疗 (shuǐ liáo) — hydrotherapy; spa treatment

Definition

Medical or wellness treatment using water — in clinical Chinese it refers to hydrotherapy prescribed for rehab, while in everyday talk it leans toward a relaxing spa treatment.

noun
hydrotherapyspa treatment
Measure word · 次

Examples

  • 水疗。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā zuò shuǐ liáo zhì liáo.
    The doctor recommended he undergo hydrotherapy.
  • 水疗。
    Wǒ xǐ huan zài dù jià shí zuò shuǐ liáo fàng sōng.
    I like to relax with a spa treatment while on vacation.
  • 水疗。
    Hěn duō yī yuàn xiàn zài dōu tí gōng shuǐ liáo fú wù.
    Many hospitals now offer hydrotherapy services.

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.

水shuǐwater
疗liáotherapy

The 水 part names the kind of 疗, so the therapy uses water.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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 療; 疗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nèdisease
Sound part声符shēngfú
尞
尞liáo療liáo
Same sound today

The traditional form 療 has 疒 for disease and 尞 for the sound; the simplified 疗 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical ones.

Open 疗 →
Appears in
Medicine & Treatment

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