毒刺 (dú cì) — venomous sting, poisonous barb (of an insect, scorpion, jellyfish, etc.)

Definition

noun
venomous stingpoisonous barb (of an insect, scorpion, jellyfish, etc.)
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 毒刺。
    Xiē zi de dú cì fēi cháng wēi xiǎn.
    A scorpion's venomous sting is very dangerous.
  • 毒刺。
    Bèi mì fēng de dú cì zhē dào huì hěn téng.
    Being stung by a bee's stinger will hurt a lot.
  • 毒刺。
    Zhè zhǒng shuǐ mǔ de dú cì hán yǒu jù dú.
    This type of jellyfish's venomous sting contains deadly poison.

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.

毒dúpoison
刺cìsting

毒 means poison and 刺 is a sharp point, so the word names a poisonous sting.

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
屮屮chèvegetation
Sound part声符shēngfú
毐
毐ǎi毒dú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

毒 pairs 屮, a plant part, with 毐 as a sound part; this form was used for a poisonous plant.

Open 毒 →

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
刂Written in full as刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì刺cì
Same sound today

刺 pairs 刂 (knife) with 朿, which gives the sound; the knife part fits actions like stabbing or pricking.

Open 刺 →

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