脉象 (mài xiàng) — (in traditional Chinese medicine) pulse condition, pulse type

Definition

A TCM-specific term: the type or quality of a patient's pulse that a practitioner reads to diagnose illness. It is not a heartbeat rate (that's 心率) — it refers to the felt character of the pulse (e.g. slippery, wiry).

noun
(in traditional Chinese medicine) pulse conditionpulse type
Easily confused

Examples

  • 脉象。
    Zhōng yī tōng guò guān chá mài xiàng lái pàn duàn bìng rén de jiàn kāng zhuàng kuàng.
    A Chinese medicine practitioner judges a patient's health condition by observing the pulse condition.
  • 脉象，。
    Tā de mài xiàng hěn píng wěn, shuō míng shēn tǐ méi yǒu dà wèn tí.
    Her pulse condition is very stable, indicating no major health problems.
  • 脉象，。
    Bù tóng de mài xiàng duì yìng bù tóng de bìng zhèng, xū yào zǐ xì biàn bié.
    Different pulse conditions correspond to different illnesses and require careful differentiation.

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.

脉màipulse
象xiàngappearance

脉 indicates the pulse and 象 means appearance, denoting a pulse condition.

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 脈; 脉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròuflesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂢
𠂢𠂢脈mài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 脈 pairs ⺼ (flesh) with a sound part, 𠂢; the simplified 脉 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 脉 →

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

象 is drawn as an elephant, with a long trunk, a head, and a big body.

Open 象 →

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