胳肢窝 (gé zhi wō) — armpit (colloquial) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

armpit (colloquial)

Measure word · 个

Examples

胳肢窝。
Xià tiān gé zhi wō róng yì chū hàn.
Armpits tend to sweat easily in summer.
胳肢窝。
Tā bǎ wēn dù jì jiá zài gé zhi wō lǐ.
He put the thermometer under his armpit.
胳肢窝。
Dǎ qiú hòu gé zhi wō yǒu diǎn tòng.
My armpit hurts a little after playing ball.

Origin

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.

胳肢tickle

联绵Bound pair

胳肢 means 'tickle' and 窝 means 'pit'; together they name the pit that is tickled.

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ròuflesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

各

Same sound today

It combines 肉 (flesh) with 各; the 肉 part relates to the body, and 各 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

肉肉ròuflesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

支

支zhī肢zhī

Same sound today

肢 pairs 肉 (flesh) with 支, 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 窩; 窝 is its simplified writing.

穴咼窩

Meaning part形符xíngfú

穴穴xuécave

Sound part声符shēngfú

咼

咼wāi窩wō

Same sound today

The traditional form 窩 uses 穴, a cave, for meaning and 咼 for sound; the simplified 窝 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

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