<p>質子 means 有質量的粒子 (<em>subatomic particle with mass</em>, in contrast with electrons which comparably have very little mass), where 質量 means <em>mass</em> (specifically in the field of physics). Although neutrons also have mass, they're called 中子.</p>

<p>荷 generically means <em>load, burden</em>, and in 電荷 it literally means <em>electric load</em> > <em>electric charge</em>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-16T02:37:36.770Z
中子 is named so just because it's not electronic
炸鱼薯条德里克
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-16T09:00:15.893Z
Or rather, it has a _neutral_ charge (compare 中立 for the general meaning of "neutrality")
Michaelyus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-16T00:25:50.963Z
2019-04-16T00:25:50.963Z
dROOOze
<p>质 in Chinese mean inseparable (不可分割) such as 质数 （prime number）</p>

<p>Another explaination, 质：事物的根本特性.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.zhihu.com/question/38322079" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.zhihu.com/question/38322079</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-16T04:04:52.977Z
2019-04-16T04:04:52.977Z
Zhang
<p>For instance, in medical terminology, we can tease out the meaning from the words. But I cannot tell why we use 质 for proton and 荷 for charge. </p>

<etymology>
Why is proton called 质子 and charge called 电荷?
# Why is proton called 质子 and charge called 电荷?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-16)

For instance, in medical terminology, we can tease out the meaning from the words. But I cannot tell why we use 质 for proton and 荷 for charge.

**Tags:** etymology


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-04-16. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

質子 means 有質量的粒子 (*subatomic particle with mass*, in contrast with electrons which comparably have very little mass), where 質量 means *mass* (specifically in the field of physics). Although neutrons also have mass, they're called 中子.

荷 generically means *load, burden*, and in 電荷 it literally means *electric load* > *electric charge*.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: 中子 is named so just because it's not electronic  
> **username_3**: Or rather, it has a _neutral_ charge (compare 中立 for the general meaning of "neutrality")  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2019-04-16. Score: 3

质 in Chinese mean inseparable (不可分割) such as 质数 （prime number）

Another explaination, 质：事物的根本特性.

<https://www.zhihu.com/question/38322079>


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