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石膏 (shí gāo) — plaster; plaster cast (used for broken bones)

Definition

石肙 (shígāo) is the material 'plaster' — the cast put on a broken bone and also used for sculpting. It refers to the substance itself, not the medical procedure.

noun
plasterplaster cast (used for broken bones)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 石膏。
    Yī shēng zài tā gǔ zhé de shǒu bì shàng dǎ le shí gāo.
    The doctor put a plaster cast on his broken arm.
  • 石膏，。
    shí gāo Gān le yǐ hòu, tā jiù kě yǐ huí jiā xiū xi le.
    After the plaster dried, he could go home and rest.
  • 石膏-。
    Tā yòng shí gāo zuò le - gè xǔ xǔ rú shēng de diāo sù.
    He used plaster to make a lifelike sculpture.

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.

石shístone
膏gāoplaster

石膏 names gypsum, a mineral used as plaster; 石 points to its mineral source and 膏 to the plaster substance.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
高
高gāo膏gào
Same sound today

膏 combines 高 as a sound part with 肉 (meat) as its meaning part.

Open 膏 →
Appears in
Medicine & Treatment

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