肝脏 (gān zàng) — liver (organ) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

liver (organ)

Measure word · 个

Examples

肝脏。
gān zàng Shì rén tǐ zuì zhòng yào de qì guān zhī yī.
The liver is one of the most important organs in the human body.
，肝脏。
Tā yīn wèi hē jiǔ tài duō, gān zàng chū le yán zhòng de wèn tí.
Because he drank too much alcohol, his liver developed serious problems.
肝脏。
Yī shēng jiàn yì tā shǎo chī yóu nì de shí wù yǐ bǎo hù gān zàng.
The doctor advised him to eat less greasy food to protect his liver.

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.

肝 gives the sense of liver and 脏 gives the sense of organ, so the whole means the liver organ.

Characters in this word

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

⺼Written in full as肉ròuflesh; body part

Sound part声符shēngfú

干

干gān肝gān

Same sound today

The left part ⺼ shows flesh or a body part, while the right part 干 gives the sound. Together they form 肝.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 髒; 脏 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 脏 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (心脏) it is 臟; in others (脏) it is 髒.

骨葬髒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

骨骨gǔbone

Sound part声符shēngfú

葬

葬zàng髒zàng

Same sound today

The traditional form 髒 combines 骨 (bone) with 葬 (zàng) for the sound.

Appears in

Organs & Anatomy

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