唾沫 (tuò mò) — saliva, spittle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

salivaspittle

Examples

唾沫。
Xiǎo hái liú le hěn duō tuò mò.
The child drooled a lot.
唾沫。
Tā shuō huà de shí hou tuò mò hěn duō.
When he speaks, he has a lot of saliva.
唾沫。
Nǐ yòng zhǐ cā yí xià tuò mò ba.
Use a tissue to wipe the saliva.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

唾tuòsaliva/spit

沫mòsaliva/foam

唾 and 沫 both refer to mouth liquid, so together they mean saliva.

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.

口垂唾

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

垂

垂chuí唾tuò

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

唾 combines 口, a mouth, with 垂, which gives the sound. The mouth part connects it to saliva.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

末

末mò沫mò

Same sound today

沫 pairs 水 (water) with 末 (mò), where 水 marks the watery sense and 末 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 2.0 Level 6 Body Parts

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