防毒 (fáng dú) — to protect against poisonous substances (gas, c…

Definition

防毒 is the V+N compound 'protect against poison/toxins', used both literally (chemicals, gas) and figuratively for computer antivirus software.

verb

to protect against poisonous substances (gas, chemicals, etc.)to guard against computer viruses

防毒。
Jìn rù yǒu dú qū yù bì xū fáng dú.
You must protect against poison when entering toxic areas.
防毒。
Zhè ge ruǎn jiàn kě yǐ fáng dú.
This software can provide antivirus protection.
。
Tā men měi tiān gōng zuò dōu yào fáng yí gè xiǎo shí dú.
Every day when they work, they have to guard against poison for an hour.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

防fángguard against

防 means to guard against, and 毒 is poison, so 防毒 means guarding against poison.

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.

阝方防

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阝Written in full as阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

方

Same sound today

防 pairs 阝 (written fully as 阜) with 方, which gives the sound.

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.