禽流感 (qín liú gǎn) — bird flu, avian influenza | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

bird fluavian influenza

Examples

禽流感。
qín liú gǎn Shì yì zhǒng yóu qín lèi chuán bō de bìng dú xìng jí bìng.
Bird flu is a viral disease transmitted by birds.
禽流感。
Zuì jìn jǐ gè guó jiā bào gào le xīn de qín liú gǎn bìng lì.
Several countries recently reported new cases of bird flu.
禽流感。
Yù fáng qín liú gǎn yào jiā qiáng wèi shēng guǎn lǐ.
To prevent bird flu, we must strengthen hygiene management.

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.

流感influenza

流liúepidemic感gǎnflu

偏正Modifier + head

禽 points to birds and 流感 to influenza; together they name flu in birds.

Characters in this word

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

The earliest 禽 drew a net. A sound part was later added, and the old net and sound shapes changed into today's 禽.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

㐬

㐬㐬流liú

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

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

咸心感

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

咸

咸xián感gǎn

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

感 pairs 咸, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart, for feeling.

Appears in

Illness & Symptoms

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