胸膛 (xiōng táng) — chest | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The physical chest (body part), more emphatic than the plain 胸 and more literal than 胸怀/心胸, which are figurative 'heart/mind'.

noun

chest

Measure word · 个

Examples

胸膛，。
Tā tǐng qǐ xiōng táng, xiǎn de hěn zì xìn.
He puffed out his chest and looked confident.
胸膛。
Pǎo bù kě yǐ shǐ nǐ de xiōng táng biàn de gèng qiáng zhuàng.
Running can make your chest stronger.
胸膛，。
Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de xiōng táng, shuō méi yǒu wèn tí.
The doctor examined his chest and said there was no problem.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

胸 and 膛 both point to the chest, so the word simply means chest.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

匈

匈xiōng胸xiōng

Same sound today

胸 adds 肉 (meat/flesh) to the original form 匈, which provides 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, meat

Sound part声符shēngfú

堂

堂táng膛táng

Same sound today

膛 puts 肉 (flesh, meat) beside 堂, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Body Parts

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