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候诊室 (hòu zhěn shì) — waiting room (in a hospital or clinic)

Definition

noun
waiting room (in a hospital or clinic)
Measure word · 间

Examples

  • 候诊室。
    Bìng rén zài hòu zhěn shì lǐ děng yī shēng.
    Patients wait for the doctor in the waiting room.
  • 候诊室，。
    Zhè ge yī yuàn de hòu zhěn shì hěn dà, hěn gān jìng.
    This hospital's waiting room is very big and clean.
  • 候诊室，。
    Qǐng nǐ zài hòu zhěn shì děng yí xià, yī shēng mǎ shàng jiù lái.
    Please wait a moment in the waiting room; the doctor will be right here.

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.

候诊wait for consultation
候hòuwait诊zhěnconsultation
动宾Verb + object
室shìroom

候诊 means waiting for a consultation, and 室 is a room, so 候诊室 is a room for waiting for care.

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
矦
矦hóu候hòu
Same sound today

候 combines 亻, relating to people, with 矦, which gives the sound.

Open 候 →

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 診; 诊 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐱
㐱㐱診zhěn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 診, the left part 言 relates to speech, and the right part 㐱 gives the sound; the simplified 诊 is a later shorthand.

Open 诊 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
至
至zhì室shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.

Open 室 →
Appears in
Hospital & Clinic

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