仰卧 (yǎng wò) — to lie on one's back, to lie supine

Definition

A verb meaning to lie on one's back (supine). The first character 仰 emphasizes the 'face-up' direction, contrasting with 俯卧 (face-down). Often used in medical, fitness, or yoga contexts.

verb
to lie on one's backto lie supine

Examples

  • ，仰卧。
    Zuò yú jiā shí, nǐ xū yào yǎng wò zài dì miàn shàng.
    When doing yoga, you need to lie supine on the ground.
  • 仰卧，。
    Tā xǐ huan yǎng wò shuì jiào, jué de zhè yàng gèng shū fu.
    He likes to sleep on his back, finding it more comfortable.
  • 仰卧。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì bìng rén yǎng wò xiū xi.
    The doctor advised the patient to rest lying on their back.

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.

仰yǎngface upward
卧wòlie

仰 (face upward) describes how one 卧 (lies).

Characters in this word

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
卬
卬áng仰yǎng
Same sound today

In 仰, the left part 亻 represents a person, and the right part 卬 gives the sound.

Open 仰 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臥; 卧 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 臥 pairs 臣 (an eye pointing down) with 人 (a person).

Open 卧 →

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