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胆囊 (dǎn náng) — gallbladder

Definition

noun
gallbladder

Examples

  • 胆囊。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de dǎn náng.
    The doctor examined his gallbladder.
  • 胆囊。
    Tā de dǎn náng fā yán le.
    Her gallbladder became inflamed.
  • 胆囊。
    dǎn náng Zài gān zàng xià miàn.
    The gallbladder is below the 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.

胆dǎngall
囊nángbag

胆 refers to gall and 囊 to a bag or sac, so together they name the gallbladder.

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ròubody part
Sound part声符shēngfú
旦
旦dàn胆dǎn
Same sound today

胆 combines ⺼, written as 肉 when full, for a body part, with 旦 as a sound part.

Open 胆 →

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
㯻㯻㯻bag
Sound part声符shēngfú
襄
襄xiāng囊náng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

囊 is made from 㯻, a tied bag with items inside, plus an abbreviated form of 襄 that gives the sound.

Open 囊 →
Appears in
Organs & Anatomy

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