毛囊 (máo nāng) — hair follicle | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

hair follicle

Measure word · 个

毛囊。
Měi gè rén de máo nāng shù liàng dōu bù tóng.
Everyone's number of hair follicles is different.
毛囊，。
Rú guǒ máo nāng dǔ sè, kě néng huì yǐn qǐ pí fū wèn tí.
If hair follicles are blocked, it may cause skin problems.
毛囊，。
Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de máo nāng, fā xiàn yǒu xiē fā yán.
The doctor examined his hair follicles and found some inflammation.

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.

A sac-like structure associated with hair forms a follicle.

Characters in this word

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

毛 is drawn as a feather or hair, with its strokes tracing the shape of the feather or hair.

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

㯻㯻㯻bag

Sound part声符shēngfú

襄

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

囊 is made from 㯻, a tied bag with items inside, plus an abbreviated form of 襄 that gives the sound.