白沫 (bái mò) — white froth (especially from the mouth); foam

Definition

Literally 'white foam', most often used in the fixed phrase 口吐白沫 ('foaming at the mouth') to describe a seizure, rabies, or severe drunkenness. Rare in everyday speech — encountered mainly in medical or dramatic contexts.

noun
white froth (especially from the mouth)foam

Examples

  • ，白沫。
    Bìng rén tū rán dǎo dì, kǒu tǔ bái mò.
    The patient suddenly fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
  • 白沫。
    Kuáng quǎn bìng de diǎn xíng zhèng zhuàng zhī yī jiù shì kǒu tǔ bái mò.
    One of the typical symptoms of rabies is foaming at the mouth.
  • 白沫。
    Tā hē zuì hòu tǔ le yí dì bái mò.
    After getting drunk, he vomited white froth all over the floor.

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báiwhite
沫mòfroth

白 and 沫 combine to describe pale foam, especially from the mouth.

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.

Open 白 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
末
末mò沫mò
Same sound today

沫 pairs 水 (water) with 末 (mò), where 水 marks the watery sense and 末 gives the sound.

Open 沫 →

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