断臂 (duàn bei) — broken arm; severed arm | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Means 'severed / broken arm' — literally or as the title of the idiom 断臂求生 ('cut off one's arm to survive'). Both parts are needed: it's a noun phrase, not a separable verb.

noun

broken armsevered arm

Measure word · 只

Examples

断臂。
Tā yīn wèi chē huò dǎo zhì duàn bei.
He suffered a broken arm due to a car accident.
。
Yī shēng chéng gōng wèi tā jiē shàng le duàn bei.
The doctor successfully reattached his severed arm.
断臂。
Zhè ge chéng yǔ lái zì yí gè guān yú duàn bei qiú shēng de gù shi.
This idiom comes from a story about cutting off one's arm to survive.

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.

断 means broken or severed and 臂 means arm, so it names a broken arm.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 斷; 断 is its simplified writing.

𢇍𢇍𢇍to cut
斤斤jīnaxe

The traditional form 斷 uses 𢇍 (to cut) and 斤 (axe) together.

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ròumeat; flesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

辟

辟pì臂bei

Same sound today

臂 includes 肉, meaning meat or flesh, and 辟, which gives the character its sound.

Appears in

Injury & Disability

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