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腋下 (yè xià) — armpit

Definition

noun
armpit
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 腋下。
    Wǒ zuì jìn yè xià yì zhí téng.
    I've been having pain in my armpit recently.
  • 腋下。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de yè xià.
    The doctor examined his armpit.
  • 腋下。
    Nǐ yīng gāi bǎo chí yè xià gān jìng.
    You should keep your armpits clean.

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.

腋yèarmpit
下xiàbelow

腋 means armpit and 下 means below, so the word names the area below the armpit.

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
夜
夜yè腋
Same sound today

腋 puts 肉 (flesh) beside 夜, which gives the sound.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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