鼠疫 (shǔ yì) — bubonic plague | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

bubonic plague

Measure word · 场

Examples

鼠疫。
Zhōng shì jì ōu zhōu céng bào fā guò yán zhòng de shǔ yì.
A severe bubonic plague once broke out in medieval Europe.
鼠疫。
Xiàn dài yī xué yǐ jīng néng yǒu xiào kòng zhì shǔ yì de chuán bō.
Modern medicine can effectively control the spread of bubonic plague.
鼠疫。
Zhè zhǒng yì miáo kě yǐ yù fáng shǔ yì.
This vaccine can prevent bubonic plague.

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.

鼠shǔrat

疫yìplague

鼠 rat specifies the kind of 疫 plague, meaning bubonic plague.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 鼠 pictures a rat: the upper part looks like an open mouth with teeth, while the lower part shows two feet on the left and a tail on the right.

Open 鼠 →

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nèsickness

Sound part声符shēngfú

役

役yì疫yì

Same sound today

疫 uses 疒 as the sickness marker and 役 to give its sound.

Open 疫 →

Appears in

Illness & Symptoms