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肚 (dǔ) — (bound form) animal stomach, tripe; (bound form) bulging portion of a jar, vase, or similar container

Definition

Bound form: 肚 (dǔ) is read dǔ only in food terms (牛肚 tripe, 猪肚 pork stomach) and the bulging belly of a jar or vase. In all other uses — body, belly, abdomen — it is read dù and written as 肚子.

bound form
animal stomachtripebulging portion of a jarvaseor similar container

Examples

  • 肚。
    Zhū dǔ tāng hěn hǎo hē.
    Pork tripe soup is delicious.
  • 肚。
    Zhè ge píng zi de píng dǔ hěn dà.
    The bulging part of this vase is very large.
  • 肚。
    Niú dǔ huǒ guō shì sì chuān tè sè.
    Beef tripe hotpot is a Sichuan specialty.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
土
土tǔ肚dù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side ⺼ is 肉 (flesh), marking body parts like belly; the right side 土 gives the pronunciation.

Appears in
Organs & Anatomy

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