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重伤 (zhòng shāng) — serious wound; severe injury

Definition

重伤 (zhòngshāng) is a serious, life-threatening injury — stronger than 伤 (a wound in general) and far more severe than 轻伤 (a minor injury). Common in medical, legal, and news contexts.

noun
serious woundsevere injury
Measure word · 处

Examples

  • 重伤，。
    Tā zài chē huò zhōng shòu le zhòng shāng, lì kè bèi sòng jìn jí jiù shì.
    He suffered a severe injury in the car accident and was rushed to the emergency room.
  • 重伤。
    Yī shēng shuō tā shēn shàng de zhòng shāng xū yào zhì shǎo sān gè yuè cái néng huī fù.
    The doctor said it will take at least three months for his serious wound to heal.
  • 重伤。
    Shì bīng yīn wèi zhòng shāng bù dé bù tí qián tuì yì.
    The soldier had to retire early because of a severe injury.

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.

重zhòngserious
伤shāngwound

重 indicates serious, and 伤 is a wound, so the word denotes a serious injury.

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
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →

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 傷; 伤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥏻
𥏻𥏻傷shāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傷 shows 人, a person, and uses 𥏻 to give the sound; the simplified 伤 is a later shorthand.

Open 伤 →
Appears in
Injury & Disability

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