小解 (xiǎo jiě) — to urinate, to pass water

Definition

A euphemistic, polite way to say 'urinate' — softer than 上厕所 or 方便, and far more formal than 尿尿. Use it when speaking carefully (e.g. with a doctor or elder), not in casual talk.

verb
to urinateto pass water
Easily confused

Examples

  • 小解。
    Tā qù le xǐ shǒu jiān xiǎo jiě.
    He went to the restroom to urinate.
  • 小解。
    Hái zi shuō tā xiǎng xiǎo jiě.
    The child said he needs to urinate.
  • 小解。
    Yī shēng ràng wǒ jiǎn chá yí xià xiǎo jiě shì fǒu zhèng cháng.
    The doctor asked me to check if urination is normal.

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.

小xiǎosmall
解jiěrelieve

小 means small, and 解 refers to relieving oneself, so it denotes passing water.

Characters in this word

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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

解 shows 刀 (knife) separating 角 (horn) from 牛 (cow), giving the picture of cutting up an ox.

Open 解 →

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