TongTong
Sign in

解毒 (jiě dú) — to detoxify, to remove poison or harmful substances; (TCM) to relieve internal heat or fever, to clear toxins from the body

Definition

Literally 'remove poison': in Western/medical contexts it means detoxify, but in TCM it means clearing 内热 ('internal heat') — fever, sore throat, acne. Often pairs with 上火 or 中药.

verb
to detoxify, to remove poison or harmful substances(TCM) to relieve internal heat or fever, to clear toxins from the body

Examples

  • 解毒。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā duō hē shuǐ lái jiě dú.
    The doctor advised him to drink more water to detoxify.
  • ，解毒。
    Tā shàng huǒ hěn yán zhòng, xū yào chī diǎn zhòng yào jiě dú.
    His internal heat is severe; he needs to take some Chinese medicine to relieve it.
  • ，。
    Tā měi zhōu jiě yí cì dú, bǎo chí shēn tǐ jiàn kāng.
    She detoxifies once a week to stay healthy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

解jiěremove
毒dúpoison

解 means remove and 毒 means poison, together giving the sense of removing poison.

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
屮屮chèvegetation
Sound part声符shēngfú
毐
毐ǎi毒dú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

毒 pairs 屮, a plant part, with 毐 as a sound part; this form was used for a poisonous plant.

Open 毒 →
Appears in
Medicine & TreatmentTraditional Medicine & Philosophy

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.