白化病 (bái huà bìng) — albinism | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

albinism

Examples

白化病。
Tā chū shēng shí jiù bèi zhěn duàn chū huàn yǒu bái huà bìng.
She was diagnosed with albinism at birth.
白化病。
bái huà bìng Huàn zhě de pí fū duì yáng guāng tè bié mǐn gǎn.
The skin of people with albinism is especially sensitive to sunlight.
白化病。
Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū bái huà bìng de yí chuán jī zhì.
Scientists are researching the genetic mechanism of albinism.

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.

白化whitening

白báiwhite化huàbecome

病bìngdisease

白化 (whitening) + 病 (disease): a disease marked by loss of color.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

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.

Appears in

Illness & Symptoms

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