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发麻 (fā má) — to tingle; to feel numb; to have pins and needles

Definition

Verb meaning to tingle or go numb (often a body part from sitting still, numbness, or anesthesia). Resultative construction: 发 + 麻 — the body is producing/breaking into numbness.

verb
to tingleto feel numbto have pins and needles

Examples

  • 发麻。
    Zuò jiǔ le tuǐ huì fā má.
    Sitting too long makes your legs go numb.
  • 。
    Wǒ de shǒu fā le yí huì r má.
    My hand felt numb for a while.
  • ，发麻。
    Dǎ le má yào zhī hòu, tā de liǎn yì zhí zài fā má.
    After the anesthesia, his face kept tingling.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

发fābecome
麻mánumb

发 marks the onset of a feeling, and 麻 gives the numb, tingling state that follows.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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

麻 combines 厂 and 𣏟 to represent hemp leaves.

Open 麻 →
Appears in
Illness & Symptoms

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