老年斑 (lǎo nián bān) — age spot; liver spot

Definition

noun

age spotliver spot

Measure word · 块

老年斑。
Tā liǎn shàng cháng le jǐ kuài lǎo nián bān.
He has a few age spots on his face.
老年斑。
lǎo nián bān Shì pí fū lǎo huà de cháng jiàn xiàn xiàng.
Age spots are a common sign of skin aging.
老年斑。
Zhè zhǒng yào gāo kě yǐ dàn huà lǎo nián bān.
This ointment can lighten age spots.

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.

老年old age

偏正Modifier + head

老年斑 names spots that appear in 老年, the old age years.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

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

禾禾héwheat; grain

Sound part声符shēngfú

人

人rén年nián

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

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

文文wénpattern

Sound part声符shēngfú

班

Same sound today

斑 uses 文 to show a pattern and 班 to give its sound.