症 (zhēng) — (bound form) abdominal mass; tumor (in traditional Chinese medicine); (in 症结 zhēngjié) crux; core of a difficulty

Definition

症 is a bound form used in TCM for an abdominal mass or tumor. In 症结 it means the crux of a problem — the hidden, hard-to-untangle part.

bound form
abdominal masstumor (in traditional Chinese medicine)(in 症结 zhēngjié) cruxcore of a difficulty

Examples

  • 。
    Wèn tí de zhēng jié zài yú quē fá xìn rèn.
    The crux of the problem lies in a lack of trust.
  • 症。
    Zhōng yī rèn wéi tā fù zhōng yǒu zhēng kuài.
    Traditional Chinese medicine believes he has an abdominal mass.
  • 。
    Nǐ bì xū zhǎo dào wèn tí de zhēng jié cái néng jiě jué tā.
    You must find the crux of the problem to solve it.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
疒疒nèdisease
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng症zhèng
Same sound today

The left part 疒 shows it is about disease. The right part 正 is used for the sound.

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