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There are five possible parts to a medical word in Western medicine: prefix, suffix, root, combining vowel, and combining form. However, most medical terms in TCM come from several words, most of which are from common English and a few of which are from Western medicine and Chinese pinyin. Take the following term as an example.

Ascendant and hyperactivity are two common English words, liver yang （肝阳）is formed by liver, a medical English word and yang, a pinyin. When you are able to recognize the words that form the TCM terms, you can move easily into studying the terminology itself. Your goal in learning TCM English is first to learn the words other than the terms, that is, do not simply memorize terms, think about dividing terms into* words. Medical terms are very much like individual jigsaw puzzles*. They are constructed of small pieces that make each term unique, but the pieces can be used in different combinations in other terms as well. As you become familiar with* the words that form the TCM terms and learn what each means, you will be able to recognize those words in totally new combinations in other terms.

For example, if you know the meaning of lung in TCM, you can figure out the meaning of lung opens at the nose. Similarly, once you know the meaning of exuberance and debilitation in TCM, you can tell the meaning of yang exuberance with yin debilitation and yin exuberance with yang debilitation, and many other terms formed by them.