消肿 (xiāo zhǒng) — reduction of swelling, detumescence (medical); downsizing, retrenchment (of bureaucracy or organizations)

Definition

Literally 'reduce swelling' — a verb-noun used medically for bringing down swelling, and figuratively for slimming down bloated organizations (often paired with 精简).

noun
reduction of swellingdetumescence (medical)downsizingretrenchment (of bureaucracy or organizations)

Examples

  • 消肿。
    Yī shēng gěi tā kāi le xiāo zhǒng de yào.
    The doctor prescribed him medicine to reduce the swelling.
  • 消肿。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài tuī jìn qǐ yè xiāo zhǒng gōng zuò.
    The government is pushing forward the downsizing of enterprises.
  • 消肿。
    Zhè ge bù mén xū yào xiāo zhǒng cái néng tí gāo xiào lǜ.
    This department needs retrenchment to improve efficiency.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

消xiāoreduce
肿zhǒngswelling

消 means reduce or dissolve, and 肿 means swelling, so the whole means reducing swelling.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
肖
肖xiào消xiāo
Same sound today

消 has 氵 (water) beside 肖. The water part connects to putting out or making something vanish, and 肖 gives the sound.

Open 消 →

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 腫; 肿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròumeat, flesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng腫zhǒng
Same sound today

The traditional form 腫 combines 肉 (flesh) with 重 as a sound part; the simplified 肿 is a later shorthand.

Open 肿 →

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