骨折 (gǔ zhé) — to fracture (a bone), to break (a bone)

Definition

骨折 (gǔzhé) is the specific medical term 'to fracture a bone,' more precise than 折 (shé) which covers snapping any long thin object, and more clinical than 断裂.

verb
to fracture (a bone)to break (a bone)

Examples

  • 骨折
    Tā pǎo bù shí bù xiǎo xīn gǔ zhé le.
    He accidentally fractured a bone while running.
  • 骨折
    Yī shēng shuō wǒ gǔ zhé le, xū yào xiū xi sān gè yuè.
    The doctor said I have a fracture and need to rest for three months.
  • 骨折
    gǔ zhé Zhī hòu yào duō chī hán gài de shí wù.
    After a fracture, you should eat more calcium-rich foods.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

bone
zhébreak

骨 (bone) is what 折 (breaks), giving the sense of a fracture.

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

The older form 冎 drew a bone; 肉, flesh, was added to make 骨.

Open 骨 →

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

  • 𣏄𣏄a tree {{zh-m|*木}} cut in half
  • jīnaxe

The shape originally showed an axe (斤) cutting a tree in half; in 折 the left part is now written as a hand.

Open 折 →

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