蛋白质 (dàn bái zhì) — protein | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

protein

蛋白质。
Rén tǐ xū yào zú gòu de dàn bái zhì lái wéi chí jiàn kāng.
The human body needs enough protein to maintain health.
蛋白质。
Dòu zhì pǐn shì zhí wù dàn bái zhì de hǎo lái yuán.
Soy products are a good source of plant protein.
蛋白质。
Yùn dòng yuán tōng cháng huì é wài bǔ chōng dàn bái zhì.
Athletes usually supplement protein additionally.

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.

蛋白egg white

偏正Modifier + head

质zhìsubstance

蛋白 originally names the white part of an egg, and 质 marks a substance; together they name protein.

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

虫虫chóngsnake, insect

Sound part声符shēngfú

延

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

In 蛋, the lower part 虫 is a snake or insect, and the upper part is a shortened 延 giving the sound for 'egg'.

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 質; 质 is its simplified writing.

斦貝質

The traditional form 質 is made up of 貝 and 斦; this describes 質, not the simplified 质.

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