水肿 (shuǐ zhǒng) — edema; dropsy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

edemadropsy

Examples

水肿。
Tā yīn wèi shèn bìng chū xiàn le shuǐ zhǒng.
He developed edema due to kidney disease.
水肿。
Yī shēng jiàn yì tā shǎo chī yán lái huǎn jiě shuǐ zhǒng.
The doctor advised him to eat less salt to relieve the edema.
水肿。
shuǐ zhǒng De zhèng zhuàng bāo kuò shǒu jiǎo zhǒng zhàng.
Symptoms of edema include swelling of hands and feet.

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; fluid

肿zhǒngswelling

水 refers to fluid and 肿 means swelling, so the word names swelling caused by fluid.

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.

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 腫; 肿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

肉肉ròumeat, flesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

重

重zhòng腫zhǒng

Same sound today

The traditional form 腫 combines 肉 (flesh) with 重 as a sound part; the simplified 肿 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Illness & Symptoms

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