verb #27,281

Meanings

  1. 1 to secrete (a fluid)
  2. 2 secretion

Examples

Réntǐ huì fēnmì duō zhǒng jīsù.
The human body secretes many kinds of hormones.
Hànxiàn fùzé fēnmì hànyè, tiáojié tǐwēn.
Sweat glands are responsible for secreting sweat to regulate body temperature.

Tips

usage
is almost always bound rather than standalone. The most common combinations are 分泌 (to secrete) and 内分泌 (endocrine). A separate reading bì appears only in the place name 泌阳 (a county in Henan).

Components

radical
shuǐ
water (radical form of 水)
Left three-drops water radical, side form of , puts in the liquid family with (river), (flow), (drop). The original sense was water trickling through a narrow opening, later borrowed by medicine for 'to secrete'.
phonetic
must; certainly
Right supplies the sound, bì drifting to mì through regular labial alternation. Same phonetic family: (secret), (dense), (honey). It contributes no transparent meaning here.

Stroke Order