尿素 (niào sù) — urea (a chemical compound, also called carbamide)

Definition

noun
urea (a chemical compound, also called carbamide)

Examples

  • 尿素。
    niào sù Shì yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de huà xué wù zhì.
    Urea is a common chemical substance.
  • 尿素。
    Yī shēng yòng niào sù zuò xuè yè jiǎn chá.
    Doctors use urea for blood tests.
  • 尿素。
    Nóng mín yòng niào sù zuò féi liào.
    Farmers use urea as fertilizer.

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.

尿niàourine
素sùelement

尿 (urine) and 素 (element) name the substance first obtained from urine.

Characters in this word

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

Originally it drew a person urinating. The old form used 尾 (tail) and 水 (water); 尾 later simplified to 尸 (body), so 尿 now shows 尸 and 水.

Open 尿 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 素 came from a picture of hands braiding thread.

Open 素 →

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