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消毒剂 (xiāo dú jì) — disinfectant

Definition

noun
disinfectant
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 消毒剂。
    Zhè zhǒng xiāo dú jì kě yǐ yǒu xiào shā sǐ xì jūn.
    This disinfectant can effectively kill bacteria.
  • 消毒剂。
    Yī yuàn lǐ jīng cháng shǐ yòng xiāo dú jì lái qīng jié biǎo miàn.
    Hospitals often use disinfectant to clean surfaces.
  • 消毒剂。
    Qǐng yòng xiāo dú jì pēn yi pēn nǐ de shǒu.
    Please spray some disinfectant on your hands.

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.

消毒disinfect
消xiāoeliminate毒dúpoison
动宾Verb + object
剂jìpreparation

消毒 (disinfect) and 剂 (preparation) combine to mean a preparation for disinfecting.

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
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.

Open 消 →

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.

Open 毒 →

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 劑; 剂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刂Written in full as刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
齊
齊qí劑jì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 劑, 齊 gives the sound and 刂 (刀, a knife) shows the meaning. The simplified 剂 is a later shorthand.

Open 剂 →
Appears in
Cleaning & Chores

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