导尿管 (dǎo niào guǎn) — urinary catheter

Definition

A medical tube inserted into the body to drain urine from the bladder. 导 here means 'to guide/lead' (not 'to conduct electricity').

noun

urinary catheter

Measure word · 根

Examples

导尿管。
Yī shēng gěi bìng rén chā shàng le dǎo niào guǎn.
The doctor inserted a catheter into the patient.
导尿管。
Shǐ yòng dǎo niào guǎn xū yào zhù yì wèi shēng.
Using a catheter requires attention to hygiene.
导尿管。
Shǒu shù hòu tā xū yào dài zhe dǎo niào guǎn jǐ tiān.
After surgery, he needs to have the catheter for a few days.

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.

导尿drain urine

导dǎoguide尿niàourine

动宾Verb + object

管guǎntube

导 means guide or drain, 尿 means urine, and 管 means tube; it names a tube for draining urine.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 導; 导 is its simplified writing.

道寸導

Meaning part形符xíngfú

寸寸cùnhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

道

道dào導

Same sound today

The traditional form 導 pairs 道 (path) as the sound part with 寸 (hand), giving the sense of leading someone. The simplified 导 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 导 →

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