腋毛 (yè máo) — armpit hair

Definition

noun
armpit hair
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • ,腋毛。
    Xià tiān chuān wú xiù yī fu shí, hěn duō rén huì tì diào yè máo.
    In summer, when wearing sleeveless clothes, many people shave their armpit hair.
  • 腋毛,。
    Tā zǒng jué de yè máo hěn nán kàn, suǒ yǐ jīng cháng guā.
    He always finds armpit hair ugly, so he shaves it often.
  • 腋毛。
    Yǒu xiē wén huà rèn wéi bǎo liú yè máo shì zì rán de xiàng zhēng.
    Some cultures consider keeping armpit hair a symbol of naturalness.

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

腋 names the armpit, and 毛 names the hair growing there.

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
Same sound today

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

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

毛 is drawn as a feather or hair, with its strokes tracing the shape of the feather or hair.

Open 毛 →

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