甲状腺 (jiǎ zhuàng xiàn) — thyroid gland

Definition

noun

thyroid gland

甲状腺。
Yī shēng jiàn yì wǒ zuò jiǎ zhuàng xiàn jiǎn chá.
The doctor recommended I get a thyroid check.
甲状腺。
Tā jiǎ zhuàng xiàn gōng néng yǒu wèn tí.
She has a thyroid function problem.
甲状腺。
jiǎ zhuàng xiàn De wèi zhì zài bó zi qián miàn.
The thyroid gland is located in the front of the neck.

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.

甲状shield-shaped

偏正Modifier + head

甲 suggests a shield and 状 a shape, so together they describe the shield-like gland 腺.

Characters in this word

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

甲 is drawn as a hard protective shell, carapace, or scales of an animal, or as armor made of connected plates.

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 狀; 状 is its simplified writing.

爿犬狀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

爿

爿pán狀zhuàng

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

The traditional form 狀 pairs 犬 (dog) with 爿 as a sound component; the simplified 状 is a shorthand, not the historical shape.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in