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大脑 (dà nǎo) — brain; cerebrum

Definition

大脑 (dà nǎo) is the formal/anatomical term for the physical brain (and the cerebrum). Compared with the colloquial 脑袋 and 脑子, it sounds more scientific and written.

noun
braincerebrum

Examples

  • 大脑。
    dà nǎo Shì shēn tǐ zuì zhòng yào de bù fen zhī yī.
    The brain is one of the most important parts of the body.
  • ，大脑。
    Shuì jiào de shí hou, dà nǎo yě zài xiū xi.
    When you sleep, your brain also rests.
  • 大脑。
    Wǒ men yòng dà nǎo xué xí xīn dōng xī.
    We use our brains to learn new things.

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dàbig
脑nǎobrain

大 as big/main modifies 脑 as brain, referring to the main part of the brain.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 腦; 脑 is its simplified writing.

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 巛巛chuānhair
  • 囟囟xìnhead; fontanel

In the traditional form 腦, the older part 匕 was replaced by a flesh part, while 巛 (hair) and 囟 (head; fontanel) stayed. The simplified 脑 is a later abbreviation.

Open 脑 →
Appears in
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