整形 (zhěng xíng) — plastic surgery (the procedure or the medical field); orthopedics (medical specialty)

Definition

整形 means 'plastic surgery' (the medical field or procedure), literally 'to shape form.' The verb sense 'to get plastic surgery done' is also common — 整一次形 = have one procedure.

noun
plastic surgery (the procedure or the medical field)orthopedics (medical specialty)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 整形
    Tā zuò le zhěng xíng shǒu shù, kàn qǐ lái nián qīng le hěn duō.
    She had plastic surgery and looks much younger.
  • 整形
    Zhè jiā yī yuàn yǐ zhěng xíng wén míng, hěn duō wài guó rén dōu lái zhè lǐ.
    This hospital is famous for plastic surgery; many foreigners come here.
  • Tā yǐ qián zhěng guò liǎng cì xíng, xiàn zài bù xiǎng zài zuò le.
    She had plastic surgery twice before and doesn't want to do it again now.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

zhěngstraighten or reshape

整 means straighten or reshape, and 形 means shape, so together they refer to reshaping the body.

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
zhèngzhěng
Same sound today

整 pairs 敕 as the meaning side with 正 as the sound side.

Open 整 →

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
shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
jǐngxíng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

形 is made from 彡 and 井, with 井 providing the sound.

Open 形 →

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