肾囊 (shèn nāng) — scrotum | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

scrotum

Measure word · 个

肾囊。
Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de shèn nāng.
The doctor examined his scrotum.
肾囊。
Tā de shèn nāng bù wèi yǒu xiē téng tòng.
He has some pain in his scrotum area.
肾囊。
Yùn dòng shí yào zhù yì bǎo hù shèn nāng.
Be careful to protect your scrotum during exercise.

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.

肾 names the kidney and 囊 names a sac; the word denotes the scrotum as a sac associated with the kidneys.

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 腎; 肾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat; flesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

臤

臤qiān腎shèn

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

The traditional form 腎 pairs ⺼ (flesh) with 臤 as a sound hint, and it names a body part, the kidneys. The simplified 肾 is a later shorthand.

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

㯻㯻㯻bag

Sound part声符shēngfú

襄

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

囊 is made from 㯻, a tied bag with items inside, plus an abbreviated form of 襄 that gives the sound.