瘦骨嶙峋 (shòu gǔ lín xún) — emaciated; extremely thin and bony (literary)

Definition

A literary idiom describing someone so thin that the bones show through the skin — far more emphatic and written than everyday 瘦.

idiom
emaciatedextremely thin and bony (literary)

Examples

  • ，瘦骨嶙峋，。
    Tā shēng bìng yǐ hòu, biàn de shòu gǔ lín xún, ràng rén xīn téng.
    After he got sick, he became so emaciated that people felt sorry for him.
  • 瘦骨嶙峋，。
    Nà zhī liú làng māo shòu gǔ lín xún, kàn qǐ lái hěn kě lián.
    That stray cat was nothing but skin and bones; it looked very pitiful.
  • ，瘦骨嶙峋，。
    Tā wèi le jiǎn féi, xiàn zài shòu gǔ lín xún, yì diǎn dōu bú jiàn kāng.
    She's lost so much weight from dieting that she's now emaciated, which isn't healthy at all.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

瘦骨thin bones
瘦shòuthin骨gǔbone
偏正Modifier + head
嶙峋gaunt
嶙lín峋xún

瘦 and 骨 show thin bones, while 嶙峋 gives a gaunt, protruding look.

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
疒疒nè
Sound part声符shēngfú
叟
叟sǒu瘦shòu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

瘦 is built from 疒 and 叟: 疒 gives the meaning, and 叟 gives the sound.

Open 瘦 →

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 →

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
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
粦
粦lín嶙
Same sound today

嶙 combines 山 (mountain) with 粦, which gives a clue to the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.