Kanji Breakdown: 痘
Core Meaning: Pox, blistering disease
Reading: トウ (tō)
Structure Analysis:
疒 (sickness radical): disease/illness
豆 (bean): phonetic component, also visually resembles pox blisters
Character depicts "bean-like pustules on sick skin" - accurately describing pox symptoms.
Essential Vocabulary & Usage
1. 水痘 (すいとう・suitō) - Chickenpox
"My child caught chickenpox at school."
子供が学校で水痘にかかった。
2. 天然痘 (てんねんとう・tennentō) - Smallpox
"Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide."
天然痘は世界から撲滅された。
3. 痘痕 (あばた・abata) - Pockmark
"His face has smallpox scars."
彼の顔には痘痕が残っている。
4. 種痘 (しゅとう・shutō) - Smallpox Vaccination
"Vaccination prevents infectious diseases."
種痘は感染症を予防する。
Key Insight
痘 specifically denotes infectious diseases causing skin pustules, primarily smallpox and chickenpox in modern usage. While smallpox is eradicated, the character remains vital in medical terminology, virology, and historical contexts, representing a category of vesicular rash illnesses.
*Stroke Order: 12 strokes - write 疒 radical first, then 豆 component.*