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神经元 (shén jīng yuán) — neuron

Definition

noun
neuron
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 神经元。
    Dà nǎo zhōng yǒu shù bǎi yì gè shén jīng yuán.
    There are tens of billions of neurons in the brain.
  • 神经元。
    Zhè zhǒng jí bìng huì sǔn shāng shén jīng yuán de gōng néng.
    This disease damages the function of neurons.
  • 神经元。
    Rén gōng shén jīng yuán shì shēn dù xué xí de jī chǔ.
    Artificial neurons are the foundation of deep learning.

Origin

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.

神经nerve
神shénspirit经jīngmeridian
偏正Modifier + head
元yuáncell or unit

神经 means nerve, and 元 means cell or unit; together they refer to a nerve cell.

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
示示shìgod; deity
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn神shén
Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Open 神 →

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 經; 经 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìsilk; thread
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng經jīng
Same sound today

The traditional form 經 combines 糹 (silk; thread) with 巠, which gives the sound.

Open 经 →

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

The shape 元 shows a figure with two lines for a head, one connected to the body and one above it, emphasizing the head.

Open 元 →
Appears in
Biology

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