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麻黄素 (má huáng sù) — ephedrine

Definition

noun
ephedrine
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 麻黄素。
    Zhè zhǒng yào lǐ hán yǒu má huáng sù.
    This medicine contains ephedrine.
  • 麻黄素。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì wǒ shǎo yòng hán má huáng sù de yào.
    The doctor advised me to use less medicine containing ephedrine.
  • 麻黄素。
    má huáng sù Shì yì zhǒng zhòng yào de yào wù chéng fèn.
    Ephedrine is an important medicinal ingredient.

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.

麻黄Ephedra
麻máhemp黄huángyellow
主谓Subject + predicate
素sùsubstance

麻黄 names the plant, and 素 denotes the substance obtained from it.

Characters in this word

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

麻 combines 厂 and 𣏟 to represent hemp leaves.

Open 麻 →

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 黃; 黄 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
炗
炗guāng黃huáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 黃 pairs 田 (field) with 炗 (light), which gives the sound; the simplified 黄 is a shorthand and its parts are not historical components.

Open 黄 →

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

The shape of 素 came from a picture of hands braiding thread.

Open 素 →
Appears in
Medicine & Treatment

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