肽 (tài): peptide

Meanings

1 peptide
2 a chain of amino acids linked by peptide bonds

Characters

肽

tài

peptide

Examples

HSK 7-9

胶原蛋白是由多条肽链组成的。

Jiāoyuán dànbái shì yóu duō tiáo tài liàn zǔchéng de.

Collagen is made up of multiple peptide chains.

HSK 7-9

二肽是由两个氨基酸组成的最简单的肽。

Èr tài shì yóu liǎng gè ānjīsuān zǔchéng de zuì jiǎndān de tài.

A dipeptide is the simplest peptide, made up of two amino acids.

Tips

memory

肽 is a scientific character: the 月 (meat/flesh radical) on the left signals it relates to biological matter, and 太 on the right gives the pronunciation. Peptides are literally biological 'flesh building blocks'.

Components

radical

⺼ ròu

meat; flesh (left-side radical of 肉)

Left meat-flesh radical - the side-form of 肉, not the moon 月 it visually mimics. It marks 肽 as belonging to the body / biochemistry family alongside 胺 amine, 肪 fat, 胞 cell, 肌 muscle. Modern chemists chose this radical so peptides read as "flesh-stuff."

phonetic

太 tài

great; too; very

Right 太 supplies the sound tài exactly - no drift. The character was coined to name peptides, transliterating the "-tide" of "peptide" with 太 as a clean phonetic match. A modern, science-driven coinage rather than a classical character.