主治医生 (zhǔ zhì yī shēng) — attending physician; doctor in charge

Definition

A doctor in charge of your case in a Chinese hospital — the one who comes on daily rounds, decides treatment, and signs off on results. Compare 医生 (any doctor) and 主任医师 (higher-ranking chief physician).

noun
attending physiciandoctor in charge
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 主治医生。
    Wǒ míng tiān yào qù jiàn wǒ de zhǔ zhì yī shēng.
    I need to go see my attending doctor tomorrow.
  • 主治医生。
    zhǔ zhì yī shēng Měi tiān dōu huì lái chá fáng.
    The attending physician comes for rounds every day.
  • 主治医生？
    Nǐ de zhǔ zhì yī shēng yǒu méi yǒu gào sù nǐ jiǎn chá jié guǒ?
    Did your attending doctor tell you the test results?

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.

主治in charge of treating
主zhǔprimary治zhìtreat
偏正Modifier + head
医生doctor
医yīmedical生shēngperson
偏正Modifier + head

主治 means in charge of treating and 医生 means doctor, so it names the doctor in charge of treatment.

Characters in this word

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
台
台tái治zhì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

治 has 水 (water) and 台; 台 gives the sound, and the character named a river.

Open 治 →

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 醫; 医 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
酉酉yǒuliquor
Sound part声符shēngfú
殹
殹yì醫yī
Same sound today

The traditional form 醫 pairs 酉 (liquor) with 殹 as a sound part; the simplified 医 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 医 →

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →
Appears in
Hospital & ClinicProfessions & Jobs

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