喉炎 (hóu yán) — laryngitis

Definition

noun
laryngitis

Examples

  • 喉炎,。
    Tā dé le hóu yán, sǎng zi téng dé shuō bù chū huà.
    He got laryngitis and his throat hurts so much he can't speak.
  • 喉炎。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì duō hē wēn shuǐ zhì liáo hóu yán.
    The doctor recommends drinking more warm water to treat laryngitis.
  • 喉炎,。
    hóu yán Huàn zhě yīng gāi shǎo shuō huà, ràng shēng dài xiū xi.
    Patients with laryngitis should talk less and let their vocal cords rest.

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.

喉hóuthroat
炎yáninflammation

喉 expresses the throat and 炎 expresses inflammation, together meaning inflammation of the throat.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
侯
侯hóu喉hóu
Same sound today

喉 combines 口, a mouth, with 侯, which gives its sound.

Open 喉 →

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

炎 places two 火 (fire) shapes vertically, one above the other, to show fire doubled.

Open 炎 →

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