洋地黄 (yáng dì huáng) — digitalis (a medicinal plant used in Chinese medicine)

Definition

noun
digitalis (a medicinal plant used in Chinese medicine)

Examples

  • 洋地黄。
    yáng dì huáng Cháng yòng yú zhì liáo xīn lì shuāi jié.
    Digitalis is often used to treat heart failure.
  • 洋地黄。
    yáng dì huáng De yè zi hán yǒu yào yòng chéng fèn.
    The leaves of digitalis contain medicinal ingredients.
  • 洋地黄。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì jǐn shèn shǐ yòng yáng dì huáng.
    Doctors recommend using digitalis with caution.

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.

洋yángforeign
地黄earth-yellow plant
地dìearth黄huángyellow
偏正Modifier + head

洋 marks it as foreign, and 地黄 names an earth-yellow medicinal plant.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
羊
羊yáng洋yáng
Same sound today

洋 pairs 氵, the water part, with 羊 to give its sound.

Open 洋 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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 黃; 黄 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
炗
炗guāng黃huáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 黃 pairs 田 (field) with 炗 (light), which gives the sound; the simplified 黄 is a shorthand and its parts are not historical components.

Open 黄 →

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