尸骨 (shī gū) — skeleton (of a dead person), remains | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

skeleton (of a dead person)remains

Measure word · 具

Examples

尸骨。
Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài gǔ mù zhōng fā xiàn le xǔ duō shī gū.
Archaeologists discovered many skeletons in the ancient tomb.
，尸骨。
Jīng guò jiàn dìng, zhè xiē shī gū shǔ yú yí wèi gǔ dài jiāng jūn.
After identification, these remains belong to an ancient general.
，尸骨。
Zhàn zhēng jié shù hòu, zhàn chǎng shàng dào chù dōu shì shī gū.
After the war ended, the battlefield was covered with skeletons.

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.

尸 means corpse and 骨 means bone; together they refer to a dead person's bones or remains.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 屍; 尸 is its simplified writing.

尸死屍

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

尸

尸shī屍shī

Same sound today

The traditional form 屍 pairs 尸 as a sound part with 死 as a meaning part; this evidence does not explain 尸 alone.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

冎

冎guǎ骨gǔ

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The older form 冎 drew a bone; 肉, flesh, was added to make 骨.

Appears in

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