妊娠期 (rèn shēn jī) — gestation period

Definition

noun
gestation period

Examples

  • 妊娠期，。
    Tā de rèn shēn jī fēi cháng shùn lì, méi yǒu chū xiàn rèn hé bìng fā zhèng.
    Her gestation period went very smoothly without any complications.
  • 妊娠期。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì zài rèn shēn jī yào zhù yì yíng yǎng jūn héng.
    The doctor advised paying attention to balanced nutrition during the gestation period.
  • 妊娠期。
    Dòng wù de rèn shēn jī cháng duǎn yīn wù zhǒng ér yì.
    The length of gestation period varies by species.

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.

妊娠
妊rènpregnancy娠shēnpregnancy
联合Side by side
期qīperiod

妊娠期 joins 妊娠, a pregnancy term, with 期, a period, to mean gestation period.

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
壬
壬rén妊rèn
Same sound today

妊 has 女, woman, and 壬, which gives the sound.

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
女女nǚfemale
Sound part声符shēngfú
辰
辰chén娠⁰shēn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

娠 pairs 女 (female) with 辰, which gives the sound.

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
日日rì
Sound part声符shēngfú
其
其qí期qī
Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Open 期 →

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