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胎记 (tāi jì) — birthmark

Definition

noun
birthmark
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 胎记。
    Tā shǒu bèi shàng yǒu yí kuài hóng sè de tāi jì.
    He has a red birthmark on the back of his hand.
  • 胎记，。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā liǎn shàng de tāi jì, shuō méi yǒu wèn tí.
    The doctor examined the birthmark on her face and said it was fine.
  • 胎记。
    Yǒu xiē tāi jì huì suí zhe shí jiān màn màn biàn dàn.
    Some birthmarks gradually fade over time.

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.

胎tāibirth
记jìmark

胎 refers to birth or the fetus and 记 to a mark, so the sense is a mark from birth.

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròu
Sound part声符shēngfú
台
台tái胎tāi
Same sound today

胎 is formed from ⺼ (written in full as 肉) and 台, which gives the sound.

Open 胎 →

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 記; 记 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ記jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 記 pairs 言 (speech; words) with 己 as a sound part; the simplified 记 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 记 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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