横纹肌 (héng wén jī) — striated muscle

Definition

A technical anatomy term for 'striated muscle' — the voluntary, banded muscle tissue of skeletal and cardiac muscle. Not an everyday word; you'll only meet it in biology or medical texts.

noun
striated muscle
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 横纹肌。
    héng wén jī Shì rén tǐ zhōng yì zhǒng zhòng yào de jī ròu zǔ zhī.
    Striated muscle is an important type of muscle tissue in the human body.
  • ，横纹肌。
    Jù liè yùn dòng hòu, héng wén jī huì chū xiàn suān tòng gǎn.
    After intense exercise, striated muscles may feel sore.
  • 横纹肌。
    Xiǎn wēi jìng xià kě yǐ guān chá dào héng wén jī de héng wén jié gòu.
    Under a microscope, one can observe the striated structure of striated muscle.

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.

横纹transverse stripes
横hénghorizontal纹wénpattern
偏正Modifier + head
肌jīmuscle

“横” (horizontal) and “纹” (stripes) describe the striped appearance of the “肌” (muscle).

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 橫; 横 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
黃
黃huáng橫héng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 橫 has 木, meaning wood, beside 黃, which supplies the sound; the simplified 横 is a later abbreviation.

Open 横 →

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 紋; 纹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
文
文wén紋
Same sound today

The traditional form 紋 pairs 糸 (thread) with 文 as the sound part, giving the sense of a line of thread; this note is about 紋, not 纹.

Open 纹 →

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròu
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ肌jī
Same sound today

In 肌, the left part ⺼ is the flesh form, matching muscle or flesh, while the right part 几 supplies the sound.

Open 肌 →

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