精虫 (jīng chóng) — sperm; spermatozoa | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

spermspermatozoa

Measure word · 条

精虫。
Yī shēng zài xiǎn wēi jìng xià jiǎn chá jīng chóng de huó lì.
The doctor examines the motility of the sperm under a microscope.
精虫，。
jīng chóng Shì nán xìng shēng zhí xì bāo, xié dài yí chuán xìn xī.
Spermatozoa are male reproductive cells that carry genetic information.
精虫。
Měi háo shēng jīng yè zhōng tōng cháng hán yǒu shù bǎi wàn tiáo jīng chóng.
There are usually millions of sperm per milliliter of semen.

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.

精jīngsemen; vital essence

虫chóngworm; creature

精 refers to semen or vital essence and 虫 means worm-like creature, together naming sperm.

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.

米青精

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

青

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

精 pairs 米 (rice) with 青, which gives the sound; the character originally meant polished rice.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蟲; 虫 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 蟲 is the one the reference discusses; 虫 is also a traditional character on its own.