尾骨 (wěi gǔ) — tailbone, coccyx

Definition

noun
tailbonecoccyx
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • ，尾骨。
    Tā shuāi le yì jiāo, wěi gǔ shòu le shāng.
    He fell and injured his tailbone.
  • 尾骨。
    Cháng shí jiān zuò zhe huì ràng wěi gǔ gǎn dào suān tòng.
    Sitting for a long time can make your tailbone feel sore.
  • 尾骨。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā mǎi gè wěi gǔ bǎo hù diàn.
    The doctor advised her to buy a tailbone cushion.

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.

尾wěitail
骨gǔbone

尾骨 joins 尾, tail, with 骨, bone, to mean the small bone at the tail end.

Characters in this word

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

The form 尾 combines 尸 (person) and 毛 (hair; feather).

Open 尾 →

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ròu
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.

Open 骨 →

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