水痘 (shuǐ dòu) — chicken pox

Definition

noun
chicken pox

Examples

  • 水痘
    Hái zi dé le shuǐ dòu, bù néng qù shàng xué.
    The child has chicken pox and can't go to school.
  • 水痘
    shuǐ dòu Yì bān huì zì jǐ hǎo, bú yòng chī yào.
    Chicken pox usually gets better on its own without medication.
  • 水痘
    Chū shuǐ dòu shí hěn yǎng, dàn bú yào zhuā.
    Chicken pox is very itchy, but don't scratch.

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.

水 means water and 痘 means pox, so the word names a watery pox disease.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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
illness
Sound part声符shēngfú
dòudòu
Same sound today

痘 pairs 疒 (illness) with 豆 (bean), for a disease with bean-shaped skin bumps.

Open 痘 →

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