红霉素 (hóng méi sù) — erythromycin | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

erythromycin

红霉素。
Yī shēng gěi wǒ kāi le hóng méi sù.
The doctor prescribed me erythromycin.
红霉素。
Zhè ge yào de zhǔ yào chéng fèn shì hóng méi sù.
The main ingredient of this medicine is erythromycin.
红霉素。
Fú yòng hóng méi sù qī jiān bù néng hē jiǔ.
You can't drink alcohol while taking erythromycin.

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.

霉素mold substance

偏正Modifier + head

红 means red, 霉 means mold, and 素 means substance: a red mold substance used as medicine.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

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

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

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

雨每霉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

Same sound today

The top 雨 (rain) points to dampness, and the bottom 每 (měi) gives the sound.

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

The shape of 素 came from a picture of hands braiding thread.