肋膜 (lèi mó) — pleura (membrane lining the chest cavity)

Definition

noun

pleura (membrane lining the chest cavity)

X肋膜。
Yī shēng tōng guò X guāng jiǎn chá le tā de lèi mó.
The doctor examined his pleura through an X-ray.
肋膜。
lèi mó Fā yán huì yǐn qǐ jù liè xiōng tòng.
Inflammation of the pleura can cause severe chest pain.
肋膜。
Shǒu shù zhōng xū yào xiǎo xīn bǎo hù lèi mó.
During surgery, care must be taken to protect the pleura.

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.

膜mómembrane

肋 'rib' and 膜 'membrane' give the pleura.

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

肉肉ròumeat; body part

Sound part声符shēngfú

力

力lì肋lèi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

肋 puts 肉 (body part) beside 力, which gives the sound.

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

莫

Same sound today

膜 combines ⺼ (written in full as 肉) with 莫, which gives the character its sound.