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化疗 (huà liáo) — chemotherapy

Definition

A clinical noun for 'chemotherapy' — drug-based cancer treatment. The first character 化 means 'chemical,' the second 疗 means 'therapy.'

noun
chemotherapy

Examples

  • 化疗。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā zuò liù gè liáo chéng de huà liáo.
    The doctor recommended he undergo six rounds of chemotherapy.
  • 化疗。
    huà liáo De fù zuò yòng ràng tā gǎn dào fēi cháng pí láo.
    The side effects of chemotherapy made her feel very tired.
  • 化疗，。
    Tā zhèng zài jiē shòu huà liáo zhì liáo, dàn zhuàng tài hái bú cuò.
    She is receiving chemotherapy treatment, but her condition is still okay.

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.

化huàchemical
疗liáotreatment

化 means chemical and 疗 means treatment, so 化疗 is a chemical treatment.

Characters in this word

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Open 化 →

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 療; 疗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nèdisease
Sound part声符shēngfú
尞
尞liáo療liáo
Same sound today

The traditional form 療 has 疒 for disease and 尞 for the sound; the simplified 疗 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical ones.

Open 疗 →
Appears in
Medicine & Treatment

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