解剖学 (jiě pǒu xué) — anatomy

Definition

noun
anatomy

Examples

  • Wǒ dà xué shí xuǎn xiū le jiě pǒu xué zhè mén kè.
    I took anatomy as an elective in college.
  • 解剖学
    Yī shēng bì xū zhǎng wò jiě pǒu xué zhī shi.
    Doctors must master anatomy knowledge.
  • 解剖学
    jiě pǒu xué Shì yī xué zuì zhòng yào de jī chǔ xué kē zhī yī.
    Anatomy is one of the most important basic disciplines of medicine.

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.

解剖dissection
jiěcut open/separatepōucut open
联合Coordinate
xuéstudy

解 and 剖 both mean cut open or separate, and 学 means study; together they name the study of cutting open bodies.

Characters in this word

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

解 shows 刀 (knife) separating 角 (horn) from 牛 (cow), giving the picture of cutting up an ox.

Open 解 →

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
Written in full asdāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
pǒupōu
Same sound today

剖 pairs 刂, a knife, with 咅 for sound, to write cutting something in two.

Open 剖 →

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Open 学 →
Appears in

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