蛋白 (dàn bái) — protein | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

protein

Measure word · 种

Examples

蛋白。
Jī dàn de dàn bái hán liàng hěn gāo.
The protein content of eggs is very high.
蛋白。
Yùn dòng yuán xū yào bǔ chōng zú gòu de dàn bái.
Athletes need to supplement enough protein.
蛋白。
Zhè zhǒng shí wù fù hán zhí wù dàn bái.
This food is rich in plant protein.

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.

蛋 is egg and 白 is white, originally the white of an egg, now protein.

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

虫虫chóngsnake, insect

Sound part声符shēngfú

延

延yán蛋dàn

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

In 蛋, the lower part 虫 is a snake or insect, and the upper part is a shortened 延 giving the sound for 'egg'.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Appears in

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