病菌 (bìng jūn) — harmful bacteria; pathogenic bacteria; germs | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

harmful bacteriapathogenic bacteriagerms

Measure word · 种

Examples

病菌。
Zhè zhǒng bìng jūn kě yǐ tōng guò kōng qì chuán bō.
This kind of germ can spread through the air.
病菌。
Qín xǐ shǒu néng yǒu xiào shā sǐ bìng jūn.
Frequent hand washing can effectively kill germs.
病菌。
Yī shēng zhèng zài yán jiū zhè zhǒng bìng jūn de tè xìng.
The doctor is studying the characteristics of this pathogenic bacterium.

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.

病bìngdisease

病 gives disease and 菌 gives germ, so together they name a disease-causing germ.

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.

疒丙病

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nèsickness

Sound part声符shēngfú

丙

丙bǐng病bìng

Same sound today

病 pairs 疒, a sickness mark, with 丙, which gives the sound; 丙 also means fire, giving a picture of lying feverishly in bed.

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.

Appears in

Biology Illness & Symptoms

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