球菌 (qiú jūn) — coccus (spherical bacterium) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

coccus (spherical bacterium)

Measure word · 种

Examples

球菌。
Zhè zhǒng qiú jūn zài xiǎn wēi jìng xià chéng yuán xíng.
This coccus appears round under the microscope.
。
Liàn qiú jūn shì cháng jiàn de zhì bìng jūn zhī yī.
Streptococcus is one of the common pathogenic bacteria.
球菌。
Shuāng qiú jūn tōng cháng chéng duì cún zài.
Diplococci usually exist in pairs.

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.

菌jūnmicrobe

球菌 combines '球' (ball/spherical) with '菌' (microbe), naming a spherical bacterium.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

求

求qiú球qiú

Same sound today

球 is built from 玉, meaning jade, and 求, which gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

艹囷菌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

囷

囷qūn菌jūn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 艹 is a plant sign, and the lower 囷 gives the sound.

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