生殖腺 (shēng zhí xiàn) — gonad

Definition

Technical biology term for 'gonad' — the organ (ovary or testis) that produces gametes and sex hormones. Far more formal than the everyday 性器官; used in medical, biological, and academic contexts.

noun
gonad

Examples

  • 生殖腺。
    Dòng wù de shēng zhí xiàn zhǔ yào gōng néng shì chǎn shēng pèi zǐ.
    The main function of gonads in animals is to produce gametes.
  • 生殖腺,。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le bìng rén de shēng zhí xiàn, fā xiàn méi yǒu yì cháng.
    The doctor examined the patient's gonads and found no abnormalities.
  • ,生殖腺。
    Zài shēng wù kè shàng, wǒ men xué xí le shēng zhí xiàn de fā yù guò chéng.
    In biology class, we learned about the development process of gonads.

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.

生殖reproduction
生shēngproduce殖zhíreproduce
联合Side by side

“生殖” (reproduction) + “腺” (gland): gland involved in reproduction.

Characters in this word

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
直
直zhí殖zhí
Same sound today

殖 is built from 歹 and 直, with 歹 giving the meaning and 直 giving the sound.

Open 殖 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 腺 →

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