大肠杆菌 (dà cháng gǎn jūn) — E. coli, Escherichia coli

Definition

noun
E. coliEscherichia coli

Examples

  • 大肠杆菌。
    Zhè zhǒng dà cháng gǎn jūn huì yǐn qǐ yán zhòng de cháng dào gǎn rǎn.
    This type of E. coli can cause serious intestinal infections.
  • 大肠杆菌。
    Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū rú hé yù fáng dà cháng gǎn jūn de chuán bō.
    Scientists are researching how to prevent the spread of E. coli.
  • 大肠杆菌。
    Shí wù zhòng dú de yuán yīn kě néng shì dà cháng gǎn jūn wū rǎn.
    The cause of food poisoning might be E. coli contamination.

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.

大肠large intestine
大dàlarge肠chángintestine
偏正Modifier + head
杆菌rod-shaped bacteria
杆gānrod菌jūnbacterium
偏正Modifier + head

大肠, the large intestine, and 杆菌, rod-shaped bacteria, together name the bacillus associated with that gut.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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 腸; 肠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròubody
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng腸cháng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 腸 pairs 肉, the body, with 昜, which gives the sound; the simplified 肠 is a later shorthand.

Open 肠 →

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān杆gǎn
Same sound today

杆 pairs 木 (tree) with 干, which gives the sound. The 木 part shows the thing is made of wood.

Open 杆 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
囷
囷qūn菌jūn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 艹 is a plant sign, and the lower 囷 gives the sound.

Open 菌 →

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