脑浆 (nǎo jiāng) — brains (the physical organ)

Definition

noun

brains (the physical organ)

Examples

，脑浆。
Tā de tóu bù shòu le zhòng shāng, nǎo jiāng dōu liú chū lái le.
His head was severely injured, and his brains spilled out.
脑浆。
Yī shēng zài shǒu shù zhōng qǔ chū le bù fen huài sǐ de nǎo jiāng.
The doctor removed some necrotic brain matter during the surgery.
脑浆。
nǎo jiāng Shì dà nǎo de zhòng yào bù fen.
Brain matter is an important part of the brain.

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.

脑nǎobrain

浆jiāngpulp

脑 is brain and 浆 is pulpy fluid, together referring to the brain's soft substance.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 腦; 脑 is its simplified writing.

匕匕bǐ
巛巛chuānhair
囟囟xìnhead; fontanel

In the traditional form 腦, the older part 匕 was replaced by a flesh part, while 巛 (hair) and 囟 (head; fontanel) stayed. The simplified 脑 is a later abbreviation.

Open 脑 →

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 漿; 浆 is its simplified writing.

將水漿

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

將

將jiāng漿jiāng

Same sound today

The traditional form 漿 uses 水 to show a liquid and 將 for the sound. The simplified 浆 is a later shorthand, so its shape is not the historical one.

Open 浆 →