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过敏 (guò mǐn) — to be allergic (to something); (figurative) oversensitive, touchy

Definition

过敏 literally means 'allergic' but figuratively means 'oversensitive / touchy.' 多心 is more about being suspicious or reading too much into things; 过敏 reacts to a tone or joke.

verb
to be allergic (to something)(figurative) oversensitivetouchy

Examples

  • 过敏。
    Wǒ duì huā shēng guò mǐn.
    I am allergic to peanuts.
  • 过敏。
    Tā róng yì duì yào wù guò mǐn.
    He is prone to allergic reactions to medication.
  • 过敏，。
    Nǐ bié tài guò mǐn le, tā zhǐ shì kāi gè wán xiào.
    Don't be so oversensitive; he was just joking.

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.

过guòexcessively
敏mǐnsensitive

过 means excessively, and 敏 means sensitive, so the reaction is too sensitive.

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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
攴攴pūhand; action
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi敏mǐn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

敏 pairs 每, which gives the sound, with 攴, a hand/action part.

Open 敏 →
Appears in
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