穴道 (xué dào) — acupuncture point

Definition

Literally 'cave path' (穴 = cavity, 道 = pathway), it is the everyday Chinese word for a point on the body stimulated in acupuncture or acupressure to affect health.

noun
acupuncture point
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 穴道。
    Yī shēng gào sù wǒ zhè ge xué dào kě yǐ huǎn jiě tóu tòng.
    The doctor told me that this acupuncture point can relieve headaches.
  • 穴道。
    Àn mó zhèng què de xué dào duì jiàn kāng hěn yǒu bāng zhù.
    Massaging the correct acupoint is very helpful for health.
  • 穴道。
    Zhōng yī tōng guò cì jī bù tóng de xué dào lái zhì liáo jí bìng.
    Traditional Chinese medicine treats illness by stimulating different acupoints.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

穴xuépoint
道dàopath

穴 points to a spot and 道 to a path, together naming an acupuncture point.

Characters in this word

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

穴 possibly comes from a picture of a cave entrance or a door flap, matching meanings such as cave and hole.

Open 穴 →

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
行行xíngstreet
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𩠐
首shǒu道dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Open 道 →

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