缝合

• Pinyin: féng hé
• Hanzi breakdown: 缝 = 纟 + 夆 (thread radical + join component — to stitch); 合 = 人 + 口 (person + mouth — to come together, to close, to unite)

Meaning

To suture; to stitch up a wound or surgical incision. Also used figuratively: to mend a rift or reconcile divisions.

In medicine, types include 间断缝合 (interrupted sutures) and 连续缝合 (continuous sutures). Used figuratively as 缝合裂痕 (mend a rift) or 缝合关系 (heal a relationship). The figurative use is common in political commentary on social or international divisions.

Examples

1. 手术团队在完成肿瘤切除后，以精细的显微外科技术对多层组织进行逐层缝合，整个过程历时近两小时，最大限度地减少了术后瘢痕形成的可能性。 After removing the tumor, the surgical team used delicate microsurgical techniques to suture multiple layers of tissue one layer at a time. The whole process took nearly two hours, minimizing the chance of postoperative scarring as much as possible.
2. 伤口已能物理缝合，但历史裂痕绝非一纸协议就能缝合，仍需长期互信。 A wound can be stitched up physically, but historical rifts can’t be mended by an agreement on paper alone—they still require long-term trust-building.
3. 这位外科医生以精准的缝合技术著称，复杂创伤也能通过合适方法提高恢复质量。 This surgeon is known for precise suturing techniques; even complex injuries can be treated with the right approach to improve recovery outcomes.

Usage Guide

Context: medicine, surgery, politics, social commentary

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 急诊医生处理深度割伤时，会按伤口深度、位置和污染程度选择合适的缝合方式。(When treating a deep laceration, emergency doctors choose the right suturing method according to the wound's depth, location, and degree of contamination.)
• 要真正缝合长期对立造成的社会撕裂，政策调整远远不够，还需教育、对话与和解。(To truly suture the social division caused by long-term confrontation, policy changes are far from enough; education, dialogue, and reconciliation are also needed.)

Don't Say

• 缝合 for simply repairing or patching objects — for general repairs use 修补 or 修复; 缝合 specifically implies joining tissue or closing a gap at two edges

Origin & History

缝 (to sew, to stitch) + 合 (to join together, to close) — to stitch closed

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal