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侏儒 (zhū rú) — a person with dwarfism; a very short person

Definition

A formal/literary term for a person with dwarfism. In everyday speech, 矮子 is the common colloquial word; 侏儒 often appears in clinical or literary contexts (e.g., 侏儒症 'dwarfism').

noun
a person with dwarfisma very short person
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 侏儒。
    Tóng huà gù shi lǐ yǒu qī gè zhū rú.
    There are seven dwarfs in the fairy tale.
  • 侏儒，。
    Zhè wèi zhū rú suī rán shēn cái ǎi xiǎo, dàn fēi cháng jiān qiáng.
    Although this dwarf is small in stature, he is very strong.
  • 侏儒。
    Yī xué shàng bǎ zhū rú chēng wéi zhū rú zhèng.
    In medicine, a dwarf is called dwarfism.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

侏zhū
儒rú

侏 and 儒 only work together to name a dwarf; neither carries its own meaning here.

Sound-only characters

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
人人rénhuman
Sound part声符shēngfú
朱
朱zhū侏
Same sound today

侏 puts 人 (human) beside 朱, which gives the sound zhū.

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
亻Written in full as人rénhuman
Sound part声符shēngfú
需
需xū儒rú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

儒 pairs 亻, meaning human, with 需, which gives the sound.

Open 儒 →
Appears in
Injury & Disability

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