瘦高 (shòu gāo) — tall and thin (of a person's build) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

adjective

tall and thin (of a person's build)

Examples

瘦高。
Nà ge shòu gāo de nán shēng shì wǒ dì di.
That tall and thin boy is my younger brother.
瘦高，。
Tā shì yí gè shòu gāo de nǚ hái, hěn shì hé dāng mó tè.
She is a tall and thin girl, very suitable to be a model.
瘦高。
Lán qiú duì yuán yì bān dōu cháng dé shòu gāo.
Basketball players are generally tall and thin.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

瘦 gives thin and 高 gives tall, so the word describes a tall, thin build.

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.

疒叟瘦

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

高 was drawn as a tall building.

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