脑颅 (nǎo lú) — skull, cranium

Definition

noun
skullcranium

Examples

  • 脑颅。
    Yī shēng zǐ xì jiǎn chá le bìng rén de nǎo lú.
    The doctor carefully examined the patient's skull.
  • 脑颅。
    nǎo lú Bǎo hù zhe rén de dà nǎo.
    The skull protects the human brain.
  • 脑颅。
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā fā xiàn le yí gè gǔ dài nǎo lú.
    Archaeologists discovered an ancient skull.

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.

脑nǎobrain
颅lúskull

脑 is brain and 颅 is skull, so the skull around the brain.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 腦; 脑 is its simplified writing.

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 巛巛chuānhair
  • 囟囟xìnhead; fontanel

In the traditional form 腦, the older part 匕 was replaced by a flesh part, while 巛 (hair) and 囟 (head; fontanel) stayed. The simplified 脑 is a later abbreviation.

Open 脑 →

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 顱; 颅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
盧
盧lú顱lú
Same sound today

The traditional form 顱 combines 頁, meaning head, with 盧, which gives the sound; the simplified 颅 is a later shorthand.

Open 颅 →

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