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洗胃 (xǐ wèi) — gastric lavage (medical procedure to wash out the stomach)

Definition

A medical procedure in which the stomach is flushed out, typically to treat poisoning or overdose. As a separable verb (离合词), insert objects or measures between 洗 and 胃, e.g. 洗了一次胃.

verb
gastric lavage (medical procedure to wash out the stomach)

Examples

  • 洗胃。
    Yī shēng gěi tā xǐ wèi le.
    The doctor performed gastric lavage on him.
  • ，。
    Tā xǐ le yí cì wèi, gǎn jué hǎo duō le.
    He had one gastric lavage and felt much better.
  • 洗胃。
    xǐ wèi De guò chéng hěn tòng kǔ.
    The process of gastric lavage is very painful.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

洗xǐwash
胃wèistomach

洗 means wash and 胃 means stomach, together describing washing out the stomach.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
先
先xiān洗xǐ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

洗 is built from 水 (water) and 先, which gives the character its sound.

Open 洗 →

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

胃 originally drew a stomach with food inside, first as concentric circles and later with a grain-like mark in the middle.

Open 胃 →
Appears in
Medicine & Treatment

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