听诊 (tīng zhěn) — to auscultate (listen to internal body sounds w…

Definition

verb

to auscultate (listen to internal body sounds with a stethoscope)

听诊。
Yī shēng gěi bìng rén zǐ xì dì tīng zhěn.
The doctor carefully auscultated the patient.
听诊。
Hù shi jì lù le tā de tīng zhěn jié guǒ.
The nurse recorded the results of his auscultation.
听诊。
Fèi bù tīng zhěn xiǎn shì yí qiè zhèng cháng.
The lung auscultation showed everything normal.

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.

听诊 uses 听, listening, as the means of 诊, diagnosis.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 聽; 听 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 聽 has 耳 (ear) and 口 (mouth), used for listening; the simplified 听 is a later shortened form unrelated to that picture.

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.

言㐱診

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.