灰质炎 (huī zhì yán) — poliomyelitis (polio)

Definition

Shortened form of 脊髓灰质炎, the medical term for polio (poliomyelitis).

noun

poliomyelitis (polio)

灰质炎。
Xiǎo shí hou jiē zhòng yì miáo kě yǐ yǒu xiào yù fáng huī zhì yán.
Getting vaccinated in childhood can effectively prevent polio.
灰质炎。
Zhè zhǒng huī zhì yán bìng dú zhǔ yào tōng guò shòu wū rǎn de shuǐ chuán bō.
This polio virus spreads mainly through contaminated water.
灰质炎。
Quán qiú xiāo miè huī zhì yán de nǔ lì qǔ dé le jù dà chéng jiù.
Global efforts to eradicate polio have achieved great success.

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.

灰质gray matter

偏正Modifier + head

炎yáninflammation

The 灰质炎 names inflammation of 灰质, the gray matter.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

灰 shows 火 (fire) that can be touched by 又 (hand), meaning ash.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 質; 质 is its simplified writing.

斦貝質

The traditional form 質 is made up of 貝 and 斦; this describes 質, not the simplified 质.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

火火炎

炎 places two 火 (fire) shapes vertically, one above the other, to show fire doubled.