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孵化 (fū huà) — to hatch, to incubate (eggs); to incubate, to foster (projects, innovations)

Definition

Literally 'to hatch' eggs, extended metaphorically to fostering new projects or innovations. Among the siblings, 创新 names the act of creating something new, while 孵化 emphasizes nurturing it from an early stage until it's viable.

verb
to hatchto incubate (eggs)to incubateto foster (projects, innovations)

Examples

  • 孵化。
    Zhè xiē dàn xū yào hé shì de wēn dù cái néng fū huà chū lái.
    These eggs need the right temperature to hatch.
  • 孵化。
    Zhè jiā chuàng yè gōng sī zhuān mén fū huà xīn de kē jì chuàng yì.
    This startup specializes in incubating new tech ideas.
  • 孵化。
    Dà xué de shí yàn shì fū huà le hěn duō hǎo xiàng mù.
    The university lab has incubated many good projects.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

孵fūincubate
化huàchange

孵 (incubate) and 化 (change into hatching) describe warming eggs until they hatch.

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
卵卵luǎnegg
Sound part声符shēngfú
孚
孚fú孵fū
Same sound today

The left part 卵 means egg, and the right part 孚 gives 孵 its sound.

Open 孵 →

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Open 化 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Biology

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