晶状体 (jīng zhuàng tǐ) — crystalline lens (of the eye)

Definition

Technical term for the 'crystalline lens' inside the eye, just behind the iris. Used in medical and anatomical contexts.

noun
crystalline lens (of the eye)

Examples

  • 晶状体。
    Yī shēng yòng yí qì jiǎn chá le wǒ de jīng zhuàng tǐ.
    The doctor examined my crystalline lens with an instrument.
  • 晶状体。
    jīng zhuàng tǐ De tòu míng dù huì yǐng xiǎng shì lì.
    The transparency of the crystalline lens affects vision.
  • ，晶状体。
    Suí zhe nián líng zēng zhǎng, jīng zhuàng tǐ huì màn màn biàn yìng.
    As you get older, the crystalline lens slowly hardens.

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.

晶状crystalline
晶jīngcrystal状zhuàngform
偏正Modifier + head
体tǐbody

晶状 means crystalline, and 体 means body; together they name the eye's crystalline body.

Characters in this word

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

晶 is drawn as three suns placed together, giving a picture of bright light.

Open 晶 →

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 狀; 状 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán狀zhuàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 狀 pairs 犬 (dog) with 爿 as a sound component; the simplified 状 is a shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 状 →

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 體; 体 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
骨骨gǔbone
Sound part声符shēngfú
豊
豊lǐ體tǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 體 pairs 骨 (bone) with 豊 as a sound part; this note is about 體, not about the parts of 体.

Open 体 →

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