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眼科 (yǎn kē) — ophthalmology; eye department (in a hospital)

Definition

In a Chinese hospital, the 眼科 is the eye department — the medical specialty for eye and vision problems. The first character is the eye (眼); 科 means 'department' or 'specialty,' used the same way as 内科 (internal medicine) or 外科 (surgery).

noun
ophthalmologyeye department (in a hospital)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，眼科。
    Wǒ zuì jìn yǎn jing bù shū fu, xiǎng qù yǎn kē kàn kàn.
    My eyes have been bothering me lately; I want to go see an ophthalmologist.
  • 眼科。
    Zhè jiā yī yuàn de yǎn kē yī shēng fēi cháng yǒu jīng yàn.
    The ophthalmologists at this hospital are very experienced.
  • 眼科，。
    Tā shì yì míng yǎn kē zhuān jiā, zhuān gōng bái nèi zhàng shǒu shù.
    He is an ophthalmology specialist focusing on cataract surgery.

Origin

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
目目mùeye
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn眼yǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

眼 combines 目, which is an eye, with 艮, which gives the character's sound.

Open 眼 →

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
斗斗dòumeasuring tool
Sound part声符shēngfú
禾
禾hé科kē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

科 pairs 禾, which gives the hé sound, with 斗, a measuring tool.

Open 科 →
Appears in
Hospital & ClinicMedicine & Treatment

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