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怀孕 (huái yùn) — to be pregnant; to conceive

Definition

怀孕 means 'to be pregnant' and focuses on the state of carrying a child, whereas 孕育 is broader and more literary, used for both pregnancy and nurturing ideas/culture.

verb
to be pregnantto conceive

Examples

  • 。
    Tā huái le sān gè yuè de yùn.
    She has been pregnant for three months.
  • 怀孕，。
    Tā huái yùn le, quán jiā dōu fēi cháng gāo xìng.
    She is pregnant, and the whole family is very happy.
  • 怀孕。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā xiān yǎng hǎo shēn tǐ zài huái yùn.
    The doctor suggested she first improve her health before getting pregnant.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

怀huáicarry
孕yùnpregnancy

怀孕 means to 怀 (carry) a 孕 (pregnancy), i.e. to be with child.

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 懷; 怀 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
褱
褱huái懷huái
Same sound today

The traditional form 懷 uses 心 (heart) to show longing and 褱 for the sound; the simplified 怀 is a later shorthand.

Open 怀 →

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

孕 is drawn as a pregnant woman with a fetus.

Open 孕 →
Appears in
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