上颌 (shàng hé) — upper jaw; maxilla

Definition

noun
upper jawmaxilla
Easily confused

Examples

  • 上颌，。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de shàng hé, fā xiàn yǒu yì kē yá chǐ xū yào bá diào.
    The doctor examined his upper jaw and found a tooth that needed to be pulled.
  • 上颌。
    Rén lèi de shàng hé yóu liǎng kuài gǔ tou zǔ chéng.
    The human upper jaw is made up of two bones.
  • 上颌。
    Zhè cì shǒu shù yào jiǎo zhèng tā de shàng hé jī xíng.
    This surgery will correct her upper jaw deformity.

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shàngupper
颌héjaw

上 means upper and 颌 means jaw, so they name the upper jaw.

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.

Open 上 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頜; 颌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
合
合hé頜hé
Same sound today

The traditional form 頜 pairs 合 (sound) with 頁 (head). The simplified 颌 is not the form described.

Open 颌 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.