肥胖症 (féi pàng zhèng) — obesity (medical condition)

Definition

noun

obesity (medical condition)

肥胖症。
Tā yīn wèi féi pàng zhèng zhù jìn le yī yuàn.
He was hospitalized because of obesity.
肥胖症。
féi pàng zhèng Huì zēng jiā huàn xīn zàng bìng de fēng xiǎn.
Obesity increases the risk of heart disease.
肥胖症。
Yī shēng jiàn yì tā tōng guò yùn dòng zhì liáo féi pàng zhèng.
The doctor advised him to treat obesity through exercise.

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.

肥胖fat

联合Side by side

肥 and 胖 both describe being overweight, and 症 names the medical condition, giving obesity.

Characters in this word

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

肥 is built from 肉, meat, and 卪, a kneeling person.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

半

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

胖 pairs 肉, which relates to flesh or the body, with 半, which gives a clue to the sound.

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

疒正症

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nèdisease

Sound part声符shēngfú

正

Same sound today

The left part 疒 shows it is about disease. The right part 正 is used for the sound.