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高血压 (gāo xuè yā) — high blood pressure; hypertension

Definition

Literally 'high blood pressure' — a medical condition. 血压 is just the measurement itself ('blood pressure', which can be high or low); 高压 is unrelated, meaning physical pressure or high-handedness.

noun
high blood pressurehypertension

Examples

  • 高血压。
    gāo xuè yā De huàn zhě yào zhù yì kòng zhì yǐn shí.
    Patients with high blood pressure need to control their diet.
  • 高血压。
    Tā yīn wèi gāo xuè yā zhù jìn le yī yuàn.
    He was hospitalized because of high blood pressure.
  • 高血压。
    Dìng qī cè liáng gāo xuè yā kě yǐ yù fáng bìng fā zhèng.
    Regularly measuring blood pressure can prevent complications.

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.

高gāohigh
血压blood pressure
血xuèblood压yāpressure
偏正Modifier + head

高 means high, 血 means blood, and 压 means pressure, so together they describe high pressure in the blood.

Characters in this word

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

高 was drawn as a tall building.

Open 高 →

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

  • 一一yīdrop of blood
  • 皿皿mǐncontainer

The shape shows 一, a drop of blood, inside 皿, a container, for blood held in a sacrificial vessel.

Open 血 →

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 壓; 压 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔdust
Sound part声符shēngfú
厭
厭yàn壓yā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壓 is built from 土, dust, and 厭, which gives the sound; 压 is the simplified form of 壓.

Open 压 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Illness & Symptoms

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