糖尿病 (táng niào bìng) — diabetes | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

diabetes

Examples

糖尿病。
Tā zuì jìn bèi zhěn duàn chū huàn yǒu táng niào bìng.
He was recently diagnosed with diabetes.
糖尿病。
Kòng zhì táng niào bìng xū yào zhù yì yǐn shí hé yùn dòng.
Controlling diabetes requires attention to diet and exercise.
糖尿病。
Xǔ duō táng niào bìng huàn zhě xū yào měi tiān cè liáng xuè táng.
Many diabetes patients need to measure blood sugar daily.

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.

糖尿sugary urine

糖tángsugar尿niàourine

偏正Modifier + head

病bìngdisease

糖 and 尿 describe sugary urine, and 病 marks it as a disease.

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.

米唐糖

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

唐

Same sound today

糖 is made from 米 (rice) and 唐, which gives the sound táng.

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

尾尾wěitail
水水shuǐwater

Originally it drew a person urinating. The old form used 尾 (tail) and 水 (water); 尾 later simplified to 尸 (body), so 尿 now shows 尸 and 水.

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

疒丙病

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nèsickness

Sound part声符shēngfú

丙

丙bǐng病bìng

Same sound today

病 pairs 疒, a sickness mark, with 丙, which gives the sound; 丙 also means fire, giving a picture of lying feverishly in bed.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Illness & Symptoms

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