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败血症 (bài xuè zhèng) — septicemia

Definition

noun
septicemia

Examples

  • 败血症。
    Tā yīn wèi shāng kǒu gǎn rǎn dé le bài xuè zhèng.
    He got septicemia due to wound infection.
  • 败血症。
    bài xuè zhèng Shì yì zhǒng hěn wēi xiǎn de xuè yè gǎn rǎn bìng.
    Septicemia is a very dangerous blood infection disease.
  • 败血症。
    Yī shēng zhèng zài zhì liáo tā de bài xuè zhèng.
    The doctor is treating her septicemia.

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.

败血septic blood
败bàidecay血xuèblood
偏正Modifier + head
症zhèngdisease

“败” means decay or septic, “血” means blood, and “症” means disease, so the sense is a septic blood 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 敗; 败 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūstrike
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi敗bài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敗 has 貝 as the sound component and 攴 (written 攵) meaning strike. The simplified 败 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 败 →

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

  • 一一yīdrop of blood
  • 皿皿mǐncontainer

The shape shows 一, a drop of blood, inside 皿, a container, for blood held in a sacrificial vessel.

Open 血 →

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
疒疒nèdisease
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng症zhèng
Same sound today

The left part 疒 shows it is about disease. The right part 正 is used for the sound.

Open 症 →
Appears in
Illness & Symptoms

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