消化 (xiāo huà) — to digest (food); (fig.) to absorb, to assimila… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'digest (food)', extended figuratively to 'absorb and fully understand' information. 比吸收 more concrete and gradual; 比加工 implies internal comprehension, not just mechanical processing.

verb

to digest (food)(fig.) to absorbto assimilate (information, knowledge, etc.)

Examples

消化。
Zhè zhǒng shí wù hěn nán xiāo huà.
This kind of food is hard to digest.
消化。
Tā xū yào shí jiān xiāo huà zhè xiē xīn zhī shi.
He needs time to absorb this new knowledge.
消化。
Wǒ hái méi wán quán xiāo huà lǎo shī jiǎng de nèi róng.
I haven't fully digested what the teacher said.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

消xiāodissolve

化huàtransform

消 dissolve and 化 transform together break down food into usable form.

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.

氵肖消

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào消xiāo

Same sound today

消 has 氵 (water) beside 肖. The water part connects to putting out or making something vanish, and 肖 gives the sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Organs & Anatomy

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