腰子 (yāo zi) — (colloquial) kidney (as food or organ)

Definition

Colloquial term for 'kidney' — used both as a cooking ingredient (e.g. grilled, stir-fried) and in casual medical talk. More everyday than the medical term 肾.

noun
(colloquial) kidney (as food or organ)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 腰子，。
    Zhè dào cài yòng de shì zhū yāo zi, fēi cháng nèn.
    This dish uses pig kidneys; they're very tender.
  • 腰子。
    Tā tǐ jiǎn fā xiàn yāo zi yǒu diǎn wèn tí.
    His medical check-up found a slight problem with his kidneys.
  • 腰子。
    Shāo kǎo tān shàng de kǎo yāo zi hěn duō rén ài chī.
    Many people love the grilled kidneys from the BBQ stall.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

腰yāokidney/waist
子zǐ

腰 refers to the waist or kidney area, and 子 completes the everyday term for kidney.

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròuflesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
要
要yào腰yāo
Same sound today

The left part ⺼ is flesh; the right part 要 gives the sound.

Open 腰 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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