过敏原 (guò mǐn yuán) — allergen | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

allergen

Measure word · 种

过敏原。
Wǒ duì niú nǎi guò mǐn yuán guò mǐn.
I am allergic to milk allergens.
过敏原。
Zhè zhǒng shí wù hán yǒu cháng jiàn guò mǐn yuán.
This food contains common allergens.
过敏原。
Yī shēng ràng wǒ zuò guò mǐn yuán cè shì.
The doctor told me to take an allergen test.

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.

过敏allergic

过guòexcessive敏mǐnsensitive

偏正Modifier + head

原yuánsource/agent

过 (excessive) and 敏 (sensitive) form allergy, and 原 (source/agent) names the substance that causes it.

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.

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

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.

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

原 combines 泉 (spring) and 厂 (cliff), picturing a spring bursting from a cliff-side, which gives the sense of origin or source.