勃起 (bó qǐ) — to have an erection | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

verb

to have an erection

Examples

勃起。
Tā zǎo shàng xǐng lái shí fā xiàn bó qǐ le.
He found he had an erection when he woke up in the morning.
勃起。
Yī shēng wèn tā zuì jìn yǒu méi yǒu bó qǐ kùn nan.
The doctor asked him if he had any difficulty getting an erection recently.
勃起。
Zhè zhǒng yào kě yǐ bāng zhù nán xìng bó qǐ.
This medication can help men achieve an erection.

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.

勃bóvigorously

勃 conveys vigorous swelling and 起 means rise, giving the sense of rising stiffly.

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.

孛力勃

Meaning part形符xíngfú

力力lìpower

Sound part声符shēngfú

孛

孛bèi勃⁰bó

Same sound today

勃 pairs 力, which carries the sense of power or force, with 孛 as a sound part.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

走巳起

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

巳

巳sì起qǐ

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Appears in

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