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毒瘾 (dú yǐn) — drug addiction

Definition

noun
drug addiction

Examples

  • 毒瘾，。
    Tā yīn wèi rǎn shàng le dú yǐn, shī qù le gōng zuò hé jiā tíng.
    He lost his job and family because he developed a drug addiction.
  • 毒瘾。
    Zhè wèi yī shēng zhuān mén bāng zhù huàn zhě jiè chú dú yǐn.
    This doctor specializes in helping patients overcome drug addiction.
  • 毒瘾。
    Shè huì yīng gāi guān zhù dú yǐn duì qīng shào nián de wēi hài.
    Society should pay attention to the harm of drug addiction to young people.

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dúdrug
瘾yǐnaddiction

毒 refers to drugs or poison, and 瘾 means addiction, so it names a craving for drugs.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 癮; 瘾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nè
Sound part声符shēngfú
隱
隱yǐn癮yǐn
Same sound today

The traditional form 癮 uses 疒 to show illness and 隱 for the sound; the simplified 瘾 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 瘾 →
Appears in
Mental HealthIllness & Symptoms

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