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解剖 (jiě pōu) — to dissect (a body, organism); to analyze (a problem, text, etc.) in depth

Definition

Literally 'dissect', from medicine (cutting open a body); used figuratively for deep analysis of a problem. 解析 stays closer to a technical/math problem; 揣摩 focuses on guessing someone's thoughts.

verb
to dissect (a body, organism)to analyze (a problem, text, etc.) in depth

Examples

  • 解剖。
    Yī xué yuàn de xué shēng bì xū xué huì jiě pōu rén tǐ.
    Medical students must learn to dissect the human body.
  • 解剖。
    Zhè piān lùn wén jiě pōu le shè huì wèn tí de gēn yuán.
    This paper dissects the root causes of social problems.
  • 解剖。
    Tā zài shí yàn shì lǐ huā le yì zhěng tiān jiě pōu qīng wā.
    He spent a whole day in the lab dissecting frogs.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

解jiěcut apart
剖pōuopen

解 means cut apart and 剖 means open; together they describe cutting a body open.

Characters in this word

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

解 shows 刀 (knife) separating 角 (horn) from 牛 (cow), giving the picture of cutting up an ox.

Open 解 →

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
刂Written in full as刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu剖pōu
Same sound today

剖 pairs 刂, a knife, with 咅 for sound, to write cutting something in two.

Open 剖 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6BiologyMedicine & Treatment

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