艾滋病 (ài zī bìng) — AIDS | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

AIDS

Examples

艾滋病。
Tā qù nián chá chū gǎn rǎn le ài zī bìng.
He found out last year that he was infected with AIDS.
艾滋病。
Xū yào dìng qī jiǎn chá cái néng yù fáng ài zī bìng.
You need regular check-ups to prevent AIDS.
艾滋病。
Wǒ men yì qǐ wèi ài zī bìng huàn zhě juān kuǎn.
We donate money together for AIDS patients.

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.

艾滋AIDS

音译Transliteration

病bìngdisease

艾滋 stands for AIDS; 病 marks 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

乂

乂yì艾ài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

艾 has 艸, a grass sign, on top and 乂 below to give its sound.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

茲

茲zī滋zī

Same sound today

滋 pairs 水 (water) with 茲, which gives it its sound.

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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