外科 (wài kē) — surgery (branch of medicine) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

外科 (wàikē) names the medical department or specialty of surgery — not the operation itself; use 手术 for the surgical procedure. Common in phrases like 外科医生 ('surgeon').

noun

surgery (branch of medicine)

Examples

外科，。
Tā shì yì míng wài kē yī shēng, zhuān mén zuò xīn zàng shǒu shù.
He is a surgeon who specializes in heart surgery.
外科。
wài kē Xū yào hěn duō nián de xué xí hé xùn liàn.
Surgery requires many years of study and training.
外科。
Zhè jiā yī yuàn de wài kē fēi cháng yǒu míng.
The surgery department of this hospital is very famous.

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.

外wàiexternal

科kēdepartment

外 refers to external treatment, and 科 names a medical branch.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

月

月yuè外wài

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

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

禾斗科

Meaning part形符xíngfú

斗斗dòumeasuring tool

Sound part声符shēngfú

禾

禾hé科kē

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

科 pairs 禾, which gives the hé sound, with 斗, a measuring tool.

Appears in

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