上肢 (shàng zhī) — upper limbs; arms and shoulders | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Technical/medical term for 'upper limbs' (arms and shoulders). More formal than the everyday 手/胳膊; pairs with 下肢 ('lower limbs') to describe the whole body.

noun

upper limbsarms and shoulders

Examples

上肢。
Tā de shàng zhī lì liàng hěn qiáng.
His upper limbs are very strong.
上肢。
Yī shēng zǐ xì jiǎn chá le tā de shàng zhī.
The doctor carefully examined his upper limbs.
上肢。
Zhè ge dòng zuò zhǔ yào duàn liàn shàng zhī de jī ròu.
This movement mainly works the muscles of the upper limbs.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

“上” means upper, “肢” means limb.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

肉肉ròuflesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

支

支zhī肢zhī

Same sound today

肢 pairs 肉 (flesh) with 支, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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