培养液 (péi yǎng yè) — culture solution; culture medium (liquid used to grow cells, bacteria, or tissues)

Definition

noun
culture solutionculture medium (liquid used to grow cells, bacteria, or tissues)

Examples

  • 培养液。
    Shí yàn shì yòng zhè zhǒng péi yǎng yè péi yǎng xì jūn.
    The laboratory uses this culture solution to grow bacteria.
  • 培养液。
    péi yǎng yè De wēn dù bì xū bǎo chí héng dìng.
    The temperature of the culture solution must be kept constant.
  • 培养液。
    Tā men zài péi yǎng yè zhōng tiān jiā le yíng yǎng wù zhì.
    They added nutrients to the culture solution.

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.

培养cultivate and nourish
培péicultivate养yǎngnourish
联合Side by side
液yèliquid

培养 refers to cultivating and nourishing, and 液 is the liquid used for it.

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu培péi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

培 is made from 土 (earth) and 咅, which gives the sound.

Open 培 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
夜
夜yè液yè
Same sound today

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 夜 gives the sound; together they form 液, a liquid, like water.

Open 液 →

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